THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


t/cts>^iA-j>-/_     Cs. 


LIFE   SKETCHES 


GOVERNMENT  OFFICERS 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE 


STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 


1875. 


'    \ 


BY  W.   H.,MoELROY   AND   ALEX.    MoBBIDE. 


ALBANY : 

WEED,  PARSONS  AND  COMPANY,  PRINTERS. 

1875. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  aud 
seventy-five, 

BY  w.  H.  MCELROY  AND  ALEX.  MCBRIDE, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


ALBANY,   N.  T. 

WEED.    PARSON'S    AND    COMPANY, 

PRINTERS,   STEREOTYPERS 

AND  PUBLISHERS. 


F 


IKTEODTJOTIOlir. 


The  publication  of  "  Life  Sketches "  began  in  1858,  and 
has  been  continued,  with  an  occasional  hiatus,  ever  since. 
Each  volume  contains  a  condensed  biographical  sketch  of  the 
Governor,  Lieutenant-G-overnor,  State  Officers  and  Members 
of  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  and  thus  fills  its  niche 
and  has  its  value  in  the  not  unimportant  department  of 
works  of  reference.  The  present  editors  prepared  the  annual 
for  '73  and  '74,  and  met  with  such  encouragement  and  suc- 
cess as  induced  them  to  continue  the  series.  The  editor  of 
Life  Sketches  for  1858  expressed  the  aim  and  limitation  of 
all  the  volumes  when  he  wrote,  in  his  preface:  "  Beyond  its 
usefulness  as  a  work  of  reference,  it  is,  comparatively,  of  but 
little  interest  to  the  public.  The  private  details  embodied 
in  the  sketches  are  designed  only  to  give  it  interest  as  a 
volume  for  private  circulation  among  the  friends  of  those 
whose  lives  constitute  its  pages." 

As  regards  the  merits  of  the  present  volume,  the  editors 
have  only  to  say  that  they  have  taken  great  pains  to  avoid 
errors,  either  of  fact  or  date,  and  to  render  the  sketches  as 
complete  as  possible  within  the  limits  prescribed. 

It  will  be  noticed  that,  the  sketches  being  arranged  alpha- 
betically, the  necessity  of  an  index  is  removed. 


LIFE   SKETCHES. 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEIST, 

GOVERNOR. 

The  tendencies  of  youth  often  point  unerringly  to  the 
future  career.  It  is  related  of  Sir  WALTER  SCOTT  that  he 
would  sit  among  his  young  companions  and  tell  them  little 
stories  by  the  hour.  So  it  was  with  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
His  earliest  associations  with  public  affairs,  amid  the  men  of 
note  who  visited  and  held  familiar  converse  in  the  paternal 
home,  developed  the  youthful  love  of  aifairs  which  has  since 
ripened  into  the  higher  and  broader  statesmanship.  The 
public  record  of  SAMUEL  JONES  TILDEN,  twenty-fifth  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  was  inspired  in  youth,  and  has  been 
shaped  after  the  simplest  and  purest  models  of  character 
among  our  earliest  and  best  statesmen.  He  was  born  in 
1814,  near  the  close  of  the  last  war  with  England,  at  New 
Lebanon,  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  and  descends  from  the 
best  Puritan  stock.  NATHANIEL  '  TILDEN,  his  ancestor,  was 
a  brother  of  one  of  the  consignors  of  the  May  Flower.  This 
ancestor,  three  years  later,  came  to  America  in  the  ship  Ann 
with  nine  other  gentlemen  from  Kent,  England,  and  founded 
the  town  of  Scituate,  Mass. 

Mr.  TILDEN'S  grandfather,  JOHN  TILDEN,  came  from 
Connecticut  and  settled  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1790. 
His  father,  a  farmer  and  merchant  in  New  Lebanon,  was  a 
man  of  great  natural  ability  and  sound  practical  sense,  who, 
when  SAMUEL  was  fitted  to  enter  Yale  College,  had  already 
become  a  prominent  man  in  the  county,  the  correspondent 
and  intimate  friend  of  SILAS  WRIGHT,  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN, 
MICHAEL  HOFFMAN,  the  LIVINGSTONS,  WILLIAM  L.  MARCY 
and  others.  By  these  associations  young  TILDEN  was 


6  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

inspired  to  become  a  student  of  the  great  questions  of  gov- 
ernment and  political  affairs.  It  determined  his  profession 
and  his  career.  The  record  of  his  rapid  progress,  the  inci- 
dents and  some  of  the  salient  anecdotes  of  his  student  life, 
and  of  his  first  bold  adventures,  in  the  ardor  of  his  early  man- 
hood, into  political  life  become  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to 
the  people  as  they  study  the  quality  of  that  riper  mind,  that 
purity  and  strength  of  character,  that  breadth  of  statesman- 
ship which  the  exigency  of  the  times  demand  in  a  Governor 
of  the  Empire  State.  These  earlier  years' disclosed  the  quality 
of  the  germ  which  has  ripened  into  the  inflexibly  upright 
and  rare  legal  mind,  the  highest  capacity  and  moral  purpose 
in  legislation  and  administration. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  prepared  for  college.  In 
the  contest  of  that  year,  which  resulted  in  the  second  elec- 
tion of  Gen.  JACKSON  as  President,  VAN  BUREN,  Vice-Presi- 
dent,  and  MARCY,  Governor,  there  was  a  coalition  between 
the  National  Republicans  and  Anti-Masons.  The  success  of 
the  Democratic  party  depended  on  breaking  it.  Young  TIL- 
DEN  had  even  then  mastered  the  leading  questions  of  govern- 
ment, and  of  his  own  motion  quietly  wrote  a  powerful  analy- 
sis of  the  political  situation,  showing  that  there  could  be  no 
honest  alliance.  It  was  published  in  the  Albany  Argus,  and 
was  found  to  be  so  finished  and  vigorous  that  it  was  attribu- 
ted to  the  facile  and  able  pen  of  Mr.  VAN  BUREN.  His 
authorship  was  denied  in  self-defense,  and  when  the  real 
author  was  discovered  it  brought  him  at  onoe  into  full  fel- 
lowship with  all  his  father's  distinguished  friends,  who  com- 
posed the  Albany  Regency.  It  gave  him  high  rank  among 
the  seniors  of  the  party,  which  he  held  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years,  up  to  the  decease  of  DEAN  RICHMOND,  when  he 
became  its  head  and  trusted  leader.  It  was  among  these  asso- 
ciations, with  the  best  men  of  the  State,  that  he  stepped 
thus  early  upon  the  public  stage. 

Two  years  later  Mr.  TILDEN  entered  Yale  College,  in  the 
noted  class  in  which  were  War.  M.  EVARTS,  Chief  Justice 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN.  7 

WAITE,  Professors  LYMAN  and  SILLIMAN,  EDWARDS  PIERRE- 
PONT  and  STEPHEN  YERKS.  Here  he  became  a  proficient 
in  all  branches,  and  continued  his  studies  with  such  close 
application  that  in  a  short  time  his  health  seemed  irretriev- 
ably gone.  He  was  taken  home  by  his  father,  and  abandoned 
the  idea  of  ever  returning.  That  was  the  year  of  the  great 
contest  of  General  JACKSON  with  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  popularly  known  as  the  Panic  year  in  finance.  Mr. 
TILDEN  had  so  far  recovered  his  strength  iu  the  fall  that  he 
appeared  in  various  parts  of  his  native  county  and  addressed 
the  people. 

In  1834  he  entered  the  University  of  New  York.  In  view 
of  his  partially  restored  health,  and  the  study  of  the  law  as 
his  profession,  he  found  here  some  peculiar  advantages.  A 
pleasant  anecdote  is  told  of  one  of  his  first  recitations,  show- 
ing how  thoroughly  he  mastered  every  study  in  hand.  The 
lesson  was  in-  the  Latin  of  Juvenal.  Prof.  TAPPAN  called 
upon  Mr.  TILDEN  to  recite  the  first  four  lines.  So  finished 
in  style,  and  yet  so  fully  did  he  give  the  meaning  of  the 
author,  that  the  Professor  had  him  proceed  with  the  transla- 
tion of  the  whole  lesson.  He  did  so  to  the  delight  of  pre- 
ceptor and  class-mates.  At  the  advent  of  MARTIN  VAN 
BUREN  as  President,  in  1837,  occurred  the  great  financial 
revulsion.  During  TILDEN'S  summer  vacation  at  the  Uni- 
versity, Mr.  VAN  BUREN  issued  a  message  calling  for  a 
special  session  of  Congress  in  September.  He  recommended 
the  separation  of  the  government  from  the  banks,  and  the 
creation  of  a  fiscal  system  known  as  the  Independent  Treas- 
ury, There  arose  a  controversy  upon  this  in  the  Albany 
Argus,  in  which  young  TILDEN  wrote  a  series  of  able  papers 
advocating  the  measure,  and  requiring  the  bills  to  be 
redeemed  in  specie. 

In  the  following  year  (1838)  United  States  Senator  TALL- 
MAGE,  who  had  left  the  Democratic  party  and  gone  over  to 
the  Whigs,  went  to  Columbia  county  to  address  his  new 
friends.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  speech,  the  leading  Whig 
of  that  vicinity  and  the  manager  of  the  meeting  rose  and 


8  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

said  that  if  there  were  any  persons  present  who  desired  to 
reply  to  the  Senator,  the  meeting  would  be  happy  to  hear 
him.  This  challenge  was  generally  understood  to  be  aimed 
at  Mr.  TILDEN. 

The  young  Democrats  in  the  rear  of  the  hall,  comprising, 
perhaps,  one  fourth  of  the  assembly,  shouted  for  TILDEN. 
who  found  himself  compelled  to  speak. 

After  an  able  argument  upon  the  question  in  controversy, 
he  passed  to  the  personal  aspects  of  the  Senator's  speech  :  he 
alluded  to  the  Senator's  statement  that  the  Democrats  had 
changed  position,  while  he  himself  had  remained  consistent. 
Then  turning  to  the  Whigs,  he  asked  if  they  found  them- 
selves now  in  unison  with  the  Senator  who  had  been  opposed 
to  them  in  the  contest  he  had  narrated?  He  earnestly 
appealed  to  them  to  know  if  they,  and  not  the  Senator,  had 
changed.  He  then  addressed  the  chairman  of  the  meeting, 
a  venerable  citizen  of  near  eighty,  and  pressed  him  in  a  tone 
of  mingled  compliment  and  expostulation,  until  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  occasion  he  declared  audibly  that  he  had  not 
changed.  Of  this  declaration  Mr.  TILDES  availed  himself 
to  the  utmost  and  applied  it  to  the  Senator  in  a  strain  of 
masterly  sarcasm  and  irony.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  this 
scene  was  electric.  It  thrilled  the  assembly.  The  youth  of 
twenty-four  had  given  the  Senator  a  Eoland  for  his  Oliver. 
The  effect  of  this  speech  was  so  powerful  that  when  young 
TILDES  was  requested  to  address  another  meeting  to  be  held 
a  few  miles  distant,  the  young  Whigs  declared,  it  is  said,  that 
if  he  did  they  would  "whip  him." 

ELAM  TILDES'  wrote  an  account  of  this  meeting  to  SILAS 
WRIGHT,  who  responded  in  a  letter  highly  appreciative  of  the 
talent  and  pluck  of  young  SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN. 

Having  finished  his  course  at  the  University,  Mr.  TILDEN 
entered  the  law  school  of  the  late  BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLEK, 
and  the  law  office  of  Judge  JOHN  W.  EDMONDS.  Mr.  TIL- 
DEN'S  father,  was  a  man  of  clear,  practical  mind,  and  when 
his  son  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law  he  impressed  upon 
him  the  importance  of  looking  carefully  and  critically  into 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN.  9 

the  reason  of  every  principle  he  studied.  It  is  from  this 
habit  in  the  study  of  his  profession  that  he  has  blended  with 
its  practice  the  study  of  metaphysics,  political  economy,  and 
other  branches  which  shed  strong  light  upon  the  higher 
grounds  on  which  the  law  rests.  Hence,  the  study  of  law 
as  it  relates  to  a  wise  and  beneficent  government  and  to  the 
duties  and  welfare  of  society,  has  been  with  him  a  subject 
of  profound  investigation.  This  has  had  its  effect  in  induc- 
ing him  to  prefer  to  a  general  practice  a  line  of  cases  embrac- 
ing the  broader  views  of  law  and  its  principles  as  a  science* 
This  has  led  to  the  prolonged  and  thorough  study  of  both 
financial  questions,  and  the  financial  aspects  of  political 
economy. 

It  has  induced  him  to  engage  largely  in  important  cases 
which  have  required  argument  in  the  higher  courts  —  cases 
which  have  led  to  a  review  of  principles  of  law,  that  fitted  a 
body  of  developed  facts,  which  often  required  the  development 
of  facts  themselves  from  various  sources  in  the  order  of  their 
legal  value.  It  has  often  been  said  of  DAXIEL  WEBSTER 
that  his  simple,  masterly  arrangement  of  the  fac^s  of  a  case 
in  the  exact  order  of  their  legal  value  was  in  itself  an  irre- 
sistible argument.  JUDGE  HOGEBOOM  once  said  of  Mr.  TILDES 
in  a  case  where  he  had  summed  up  during  a  day  and  a-half 
with  similar  force  and  power  of  statement,  that  he  spoke  as 
if  in  a  trance. 

The  long  series  of  important  cases  in  which  Mr.  TILDES 
has  been  engaged  before  all  our  higher  courts,  if  reported 
only  in  the  outline  would  extend  this  sketch  beyond  all  pro- 
per limits.  A  few  of  the  most  significant  are  referred  to, 
which  show  his  keenly  analytic  and  logical  mind,  and  his  high 
moral  purpose  in  gaining  the  ends  of  right  and  justice. 

In  1855.  AZARIAH  0.  FLAGG  received  the  certificate  of 
election  as  Comptroller  of  the  city  of  New  York.  His  title 
to  the  office  was  contested  by  his  opponent  by  the  legal  pro- 
cess termed  quo  warranto.  The  vote  had  been  so  close  that 
a  change  in  the  return  of  a  single  election  district  would 


10  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

alter  the  result.  Upon  a  fraud  inserted  here  this  opponent 
proceeded.  From  the  very  data  of  the  contestant,  Mr.  TIL- 
DEN,  by  a  mathematical  and  logical  analysis,  reconstructed  a 
lost  tally  list  showing  the  number  of  tickets,  candidates  and 
aggregate  votes,  and  proved  conclusively  that  the  return  for 
Mr.  FLAGG  was  correct,  and  won  the  case  on  his  opening. 

As  counsel  for  the  BUEDELL  heirs  in  the  American  rival  of 
the  TICHBOENE  case,  Mr.  TILDEN  tore  to  tatters  the  won- 
derful tissue  of  falsehoods  of  the  claimant  —  Mrs.  CUNNING- 
HAM—  by  an  adroit  examination  of  one  hundred  and  forty- 
two  witnesses,  and'  developed  a  series  of  circumstances 
which  struck  the  mind  of  the  judge  with  irresistible  force, 
and  led  him  to  the  conviction  that  the  asserted  marriage  had 
never  taken  place. 

More  than  half  of  the  railroad  enterprises  of  the  West, 
north  of  the  Ohio,  and  between  the  Hudson  and  Missouri 
rivers  during  the  last  twenty  years  have,  in  one  way  or  the 
another,  stood  in  the  relation  of  clientage  to  Mr.  TILDEN. 
From  1855  to  1860,  many  of  them  became  insolvent,  and  so 
put  in  peril  the  interests  of  people  of  all  conditions  who  were 
their  creditors.  His  legal  knowledge  and  broad  views  of 
legislation  were  brought  into  requisition  for  the  benefit  of 
many  of  them  in  reorganization.  He  had  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  their  history  and  requirements,  and  had  made  a 
thorough  mastery  as  well  of  all  the  questions  which  could 
arise  in  their  financial  administration. 

To  other  of  his  great  legal  triumphs  we  can  but  refer  to 
in  passing.  In  an  important  case  of  the  Cumberland  Coal 
Company  in  Maryland,  he  established  the  application  of  the 
legal  principle  that  a  trustee  cannot  deal  with  trust 
property,  to  the  directors  of  all  corporations.  In  the 
defense  in  the  leading  case  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Canal  Company,  against  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Com- 
pany, Mr.  TILDEN  occupied  twelve  clerks  for  a  year  in 
gathering  all  the  statistics  and  facts  of  canal  navigation, 
covering  a  period  of  many  years,  and  by  carefully  applying 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN.  11 

the  law  of  average,  he  settled  one  of  the  most  important 
economic  principles  in  canal  navigation,  and  gained  this 
case  against  the  canal  company. 

He  had,  also,  in  this  long  period,  settled  all  the  important 
principles  involved  in  the  management  of  our  canals.  He 
had  in  this  work  obtained  a  clear  view  of  all  the  relations  of 
both  canals  and  railroads  to  the  interests  of  the  people  and 
the  State.  Mr.  TILDEN'S  power  of  analysis  and  combina- 
tion is  rare.  He  has  great  skill  in  intricate  research  in 
bringing  to  light  in  consecutive  order  from  a  mass  of  chaotic 
material  all  the  strong  facts  of  a  case.  In  this  work  he 
developes  his  force  and  acumen  in  analysis.  Then  comes 
into  play  the  rarer  gift  of  combination  and  organization, 
without  which  the  results  of  analysis  are  never  gathered  up 
and  applied  to  beneficent  ends. 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN  was  an  eminent  example  of  this 
power.  Mr.  TILDES,  even  in  youth,  was  spoken  ot  by  this 
statesman  and  his  compeers  as  one  "  who  had  a  plan  "  and  a 
vigor  which  attracted  their  attention. 

In  1864,  Mr.  TILDEN  was  returned  from  New  York  city,  as 
member  of  the  Assembly,  and  also  as  member  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention.  In  all  the  most  important  discussions 
in  the  two  revisions  of  the  State  Constitution,  1846  and  1867, 
Mr.  TILDEN  bore  a  conspicuous  part. 

In  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1846  he  was  next  to 
MICHAEL  HOFFMAN  in  the  Committee  on  Canals  and  the 
Financial  Obligations  of  the  State,  and  did  much  to  shape 
our  subsequent  policy  respecting  finance  and  the  canals.  A 
speech  on  the  currency  will  be  found  in  the  printed  debates 
which  contains  the  germs  .of  the  opinions  now  adopted  by 
the  best  thinkers  in  Great  Britain  against  the  celebrated  bill 
of  Sir  ROBERT  PEEL,  passed  as  the  basis  of  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land in  1844.  He  was  also  a  leading  member  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention  of  1867,  taking  a  particularly  active 
part  in  relation  to  financial  and  legal  subjects. 


12  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Notwithstanding  the  engrossing  nature  of  his  profession 
and  the  absorbing  demands  of  a  large  practice,  Mr.  TILDEST 
in  these  and  other  public  councils  has  taken  an  active  inter- 
est and  share  in  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  Union.  For 
more  than  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  trusted  adviser  in  the 
councils  of  the  leading  men  of  the  State,  and  in  their  ranks 
no  man  stands  higher  as  an  apt  judge  of  men  and  motives, 
as  a  skillful  and  effective  organizer,  and  as  a  hard  worker  who 
knows  how  to  make  others  work  hard  also.  Probably  no 
other  man  since  VAN"  BUKEN'S  day  has  enjoyed  a  wider  per- 
sonal acquaintance  in  this  State. 

During  the  height  of  the  power  of  the  Ring,  in  1869,  an 
effort  was  made  to  supersede  him  as  head  of  the  State  Com- 
mittee. He  accepted  the  contest,  and  was  sustained  by 
nearly  seven-eighths  of  the  convention.  Early  in  1870  be- 
gan the  celebrated  controversy  concerning  the  new  charter 
of  the  city  of  New  York.  The  Ring  had  succeeded  in  mis- 
leading a  majority  of  the  best  citizens,  but  although  stand- 
ing well  nigh  alone,  Mr.  TILDEIST  went  to  Albany,  and  on 
April  5,  1870,  made  a  speech  in  scathing  denunciation  of  the 
charter  which  restored  the  TWEED  dynasty  to  power,  not  by 
the  voice  of  the  people,  but  by  the  vote  of  the  Legislature. 
As  it  turned  out,  the  bill  was  passed  almost  unanimously,  and 
under  it  occurred  the  notorious  six  million  robbery. 

In  1871  he  led  the  revolt  of  forty  thousand  Democrats 
against  the  Ring  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Notwithstand- 
ing he  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  party  in  the  State,  he 
openly  announced  to  the  convention  that  he  should  oppose 
the  TWEED  nominees  and  endeavor  to  crush  their  power  in 
the  legislative  bodies  of  the  State,  declaring  further  that  if 
this  were  considered  irregular  he  should  resign  his  chairman- 
ship of  the  State  Committee,  and,  going  among  his  plundered 
fellow-citizens  make  common  cause  with  them  for  emanci- 
pation. That  autumn  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  for 
the  avowed  and  express  purpose  of  purifying  the  judiciary. 
Tne  successful  result  of  this,  the  most  burdensome  contest 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN.  13 

of  his  whole  career,  is  too  well  known  to  be  brought  on  here. 
He  was  watchful  and  untiring  until  he  saw  the  Bench  was 
purified  by  the  resignation  of  some  and  impeachment  of  others. 

By  his  famous  analysis  of  the  accounts  of  the  Broadway 
Bank,  and  subsequent  investigation  of  a  similar  character, 
Mr.  TILDEN  furnished  all  the  judicial  evidence  by  which  the 
suits  against  the  Ring,  whether  by  State  or  County,  could 
be  maintained.  At  the  end  of  eighteen  months'  gratuitous 
labor —  for  both  he  and  Mr.  O'CoNOR,  not  only  received  no 
professional  compensation,  but  even  paid  their  own  traveling 
expenses  —  he  accomplished  his  object.  While  pursuing  it 
he  had  completely  retired  from  his  lucrative  practice  and 
from  attention  to  his  personal  business. 

Mr.  TILDEN  was  nominated  to  the  high  office  which  he 
now  fills  by  the  Democratic  State  Convention  which  met  in 
Syracuse  in  September  last.  Chief-Justice  CHURCH,  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  and  Hon.  A.  J.  PARKER,  late  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  had  many  warm  supporters  among  the 
delegates,  but  Mr.  TILDEN  was  the  choice  of  the  majority, 
and  was  unanimously  named  as  the  choice  of  the  conven- 
tion amid  much  enthusiasm.  In  the  election  that  followed 
he  defeated  General  JOHN  A.  Dix,  the  Republican  candi- 
date for  Governor,  by  a  majority  of  50,317.  General  Dix 
had  been  elected  two  years  before  by  a  majority  of  55,451. 

In  the  brief  period  which,  at  this  writing  (April  1st),  has 
elapsed  since  his  entrance  upon  his  gubernatorial  duties, 
Mr.  TILDEN  has  accomplished  notable  things,  and  given 
earnest  of  an  administration  which  cannot  but  redown  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  State,  gladden  all  friends  of  reform  and 
honest  government,  and  write  his  name  high  among  New 
York's  wisest  and  most  efficient  governors.  His  message  to 
the  Legislature,  of  March  19th,  relative  to  the  canals  of  the 
State,  produced,  it  is  safe  to  say,  a  profounder  sensation  than 
any  similar  paper  that  ever  emanated  from  the  Executive 
Chamber.  The  message  had  its  origin  in  a  petition  received 
by  Governor  TILDEN  from  forwarders,  boatmen  and  others 


14  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

engaged  in  transportation  on  the  canals.  They  represented 
to  him  that  the  depressed  state  of  their  business  called  for 
legislation,  and  necessitated  a  reduction  of  tolls,  and  requested 
him  to  look  into  the  condition  of  the  canal  commerce,  and 
to  make  such  recommendations  to  the  Legislature  as  would, 
in  his  opinion,  lead  to  measures  of  relief.  In  response, 
Governor  TILDES  sent  into  the  Legislature  a  message  brist- 
ling with  points,  which  at  once  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
people  and  the  public  press,  irrespective  of  party  affiliations, 
from  Lake  Erie  to  Montauk  Point. 

It  presents  a  startling  array  of  facts  and  figures,  grouped 
and  arranged  with  characteristic  skill,  showing  the  grave 
faults  inherent  in  the  present  system  of  canal  management, 
the  gigantic  frauds  that  had  grown  up  under  it,  and  con- 
cludes by  offering,  for  the  consideration  of  the  Legislature,  a 
number  of  valuable  suggestions,  designed  to  remedy  the  evils 
pointed  out  Every  citizen,  as  he  read  the  message,  could 
not  but  feel  impressed  with  the  cheering  fact  that  the  time 
for  reform  in  canal  management,  long  delayed,  had  at  length 
arrived,  and  that  the  man  whose  name  was  indissolubly 
associated  with  the  downfall  of  the  Tweed  Eing  was  deter- 
mined to  use  the  might,  with  which  he  was  clothed  as  Gov- 
ernor, to  compass  the  destruction  of  what  has  been  called 
"  the  spinal  cord  of  the  political  evil  in  New  York  State  " — 
the  Canal  Eing.  The  first  fruits  of  the  message  have  already 
appeared  in  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Senate,  and  a  Committee  of  the  Legislature, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  thoroughly  investigating  the  canal 
system  from  every  possible  standpoint.  Guided  by  the  light 
furnished  by  their  reports,  the  Legislature  will  be  enabled 
to  frame  the  laws  necessary  to  correct  the  fault  in  the  canal 
system,  and  the  proper  tribunal  to  punish  those  who  will  be 
proven  guilty  of  plundering  from  the  public  treasury.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  the  message  on  the  canals,  considered 
by  itself,  would  suffice  to  render  Mr.  TILDEN'S  term  of  office 
as  Governor,  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  State. 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN.  15 

Mr.  TILDEN  has  never  been  an  office-holder.  A  bachelor, 
he  has  been  able  to  devote  a  very  large  share  of  his  time  to 
the  pursuit  of  his  profession  and  the  discharge  of  his  pro- 
fessional duties.  He  is  a  man  of  cultivated  literary  and 
artistic  tastes,  and  intimate  with  many  literary  men.  His 
law  library  is  excelled  by  but  erne  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  he  possesses  also  a  rare  collection  of  books  on  finance 
and  political  economy  and  in  general  literature.  His  health 
he  preserves  by  out-door  exercise,  of  which  he  is  very  fond, 
taking  frequent  horseback  rides  and  being  often  seen  behind 
his  well-known  trotters.  A  recent  trip  to  Europe,  on  leav- 
ing for  which  he  resigned  the  chair  of  the  Democratic  State 
Central  Committee,  to  be  rechosen  on  his  return,  is  the  only 
extended  vacation  he  has  had  time  to  take  of  late. 

Mr.  TILDEN'S  personal  and  professional  character  is  abso- 
lutely unassailable ;  his  eminent  ability  is  universally  con- 
ceded, and  his  distinguished  and  invaluable  services  in  the 
interest  of  pure  government  have  long  compelled  admiring 
recognition  from  friend  and  foe  alike. 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  STAFF. 

Maj.-Gen.  FRANKLIN  TOWNSEND,  of  Albany,  Adjutant- 
General, 

Brevet-Maj.-Gen.  JOHN  B.  WOODWARD,  of  Brooklyn, 
Inspector-  General. 

Brig.-Gen.  KILBURN  KNOX,  of  New  York,  Commissary- 
General  and  Chief  of  Ordnance. 

Brig.-Gen.  EDGAR  M.  CULLEN,  of  Brooklyn,  Engineer-in- 
Chief. 

Brig.-Gen.  CHARLES  HUGHES,  of  Sandy  Hill,  Judge-Advo- 
cate General. 

Brig.-Gen.  AUSTIN  FLINT,  JR.,  of  New  York,  Surgeon- 
General. 


16  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Brig.-Gen.  S.  STEWART  ELLSWORTH,  of  Perm  Yan,  Quar- 
termaster- General. 

Brig.-Gen.  HERMANN  UHL,  of  New  York,  Paymaster- 
General. 

Brig.-Gen.  CHARLES  H.  SMYTH,  of  Oneida,  Commissary- 
General  of  Subsistence. 

Col.  CHARLES  TRACET,  Aide-de-camp. 

Col.  LATHAM  C.  STRONG,  Aide-de-camp. 

Col.  JAMES  B.  PEARSALL,  Aide-de-camp. 

Col.  THOMAS  STOKES,  Aide-de-camp. 

Col.  CLIFFORD  A.  H.  BARTLETT,  Aide-de-camp. 


WILLIAM  DORSHEIMER.  17 

WILLIAM  DORSHEIMER, 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

WILLIAM  DORSHEIMER  was  born  in  Lyons,  Wayne  county, 
New  York,  February  5, 1832,  his  father,  PHILIP  DORSHEIMER, 
afterward  Treasurer  of  this  State,  having  been  a  native  of  West 
Germany.  When  four  years  of  age  young  DORSHEIMER  was 
brought  to  Buffalo,  which  thenceforth  continued  the  resi- 
dence of  himself  and  family.  He  was  fitted  for  college  at 
Andover,  Massachusetts,  and  entered  Harvard  as  freshman 
in  1849.  Two  years  afterward  a  prolonged  illness  threw  him 
out  of  his  class  and  prevented  his  being  graduated.  Keturn- 
ing  to  Buffalo,  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1854  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  From  that  time  forward  he  practiced 
his  profession,  and,  in  1859,  became  the  law  partner  of  the 
late  Hon.  SOLOMON  G.  HAVEN. 

Mr.  DORSHEIMER'S  tastes  early  drew  him  to  literary  work 
and  study,  and  in  1858,  he  being  then  twenty-six  years  of 
age,  two  papers  from  his  pen  were  published  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly.  They  were  reviews  of  PARTON'S  "  Life  of  Aaron 
Burr "  and  "  Life  of  Jefferson,"  respectively,  and  the  lite- 
rary culture,  the  critical  grasp  and  the  historical  research 
they  displayed  at  once  attracted  attention.  Among  other 
recognitions  of  their  merit  was  the  bestowal,  by  Harvard, 
upon  their  author  of  the  honorary  degree  of  master  of  arts. 

Years,  however,  before  the  appearance  of  his  intensely 
appreciative  essay  on  JEFFERSON,  Mr.  DORSHEIMER  had 
given  a  warm  adhesion  to  the  doctrines  of  the  great  states- 
mail  and  had  molded  his  political  faith  on  that  of  the  sage 
of  Monticello.  Always  an  earnest  Democrat  in  his  notions 
of  government  and  administration,  his  first  vote  was  cast,  in 
1854,  for  HORATIO. SEYMOUR  as  candidate  for  Governor,  and 
his  first  political  speech  was  made  in  behalf  of  Judge  MAS- 
2 


18  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

TEN,  then  running  an  anti-Know-nothing  and  Democratic 
candidate  for  judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  His  debut  on 
the  political  rostrum,  therefore,  was  made  in  support  of  the 
truly  Democratic  doctrine  of  the  equal  rights  of  the  adopted 
citizen  with  those  of  the  "  native  American." 

But  the  Know-nothing  excitement  was  soon  merged  in  the 
vaster  and  more  radical  agitation  of  the  slavery  question, 
and  upon  this  issue  young  DOESHEIMER  saw  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  bid  farewell  for  a  time  to  the  party  with  which  he  had 
first  associated  himself,  albeit  to  its  fundamental  political 
doctrines  he  never  ceased  to  cling.  In  making  this  change 
of  sides,  whatever  else  of  criticism  he  may  incur,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  he  went  with  the  multitude,  or  studied  his  per- 
sonal interests,  for  he  joined  the  Eepublican  party  in  1855, 
in  the  very  infancy  of  its  organization,  and  voted  its  tickets 
when  its  force  in  the  city  of  Buffalo  comprised  barely  six 
hundred  voters.  The  following  year  he  campaigned  for  Fre- 
mont, and  in  1860  voted  and  worked  for  Lincoln. 

In  1861  Mr.  DORSHEIMER  entered  the  military  service  of 
the  country.  He  was  appointed  by  Mr.  LINCOLN  an  aide- 
de-camp,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  was  assigned  to  duty 
on  the  staff  of  Gen.  FREMONT.  At  the  close  of  that  officers 
brief  campaign  in  Missouri  the  members  of  his  staff  were 
retired  from  service,  and  Mr.  DORSHEIMER  returning  to 
civil  life,  shortly  after  published  in  the  Atlantic  the  well- 
known  and  interesting  series  of  articles  entitled  "Fremont's 
Hundred  Days  in  Missouri,"  which  warmly  vindicated  both 
the  military  and  political  policy  of  that  commander. 

In  1867  Mr.  DORSHEIMER  was  appointed  United  States 
District  Attorney  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York, 
the  duties  of  which  position,  as  even  his  enemies  admit,  he 
discharged  with  signal  ability.  His  term  expired  in  1871, 
and  he  did  not  seek  a  re-appointment.  In  the  spring  of 
1872,  arguing  that  the  reasons  which  led  him  into  the 
Kepublican  party  in  1855  no  longer  existed  to  retain  him 
there,  Mr.  DOHSHEIMER  found  himself  sympathizing  warmly 


WILLIAM  DORSHEIMER.  19 

with  the  various  movements  which  led  to  the  inception  of  the 
Liberal  Republican  exodus.  Once  more  casting  his  lot  with  an 
apparently  hopeless  political  minority,  he  was  the  first  person 
to  take  affirmative  part  in  the  Liberal  movement  in  the  State 
of  New  York.  A  letter  signifying  adhesion  to  the  principles 
of  the  Missouri  call  and  accepting  the  invitation  to  the  Cin- 
cinnati Convention,  and  which  was  signed  by  HOEACE 
GKEELEY,  HENEY  R.  SELDEIST  and  others,  was  drawn  up  by 
Mr.  DOBSHEIMEE  and  by  him  submitted  to  numerous  gen- 
tlemen who  participated  in  the  departure.  Mr.  DOBSHEI- 
MEE  was  prominent  as  one  of  the  New  York  delegates  in 
the  Cincinnati  Convention,  and  on  his  return  to  Buffalo 
made  the  first  ratification  speech  for  GEEELEY.  His  pow- 
erful and  eloquent  addresses,  delivered  during  the  campaign 
of  1 872,  were  listened  to  by  tens  of  thousands  of  persons  in 
this  and  other  States. 

Mr.  DOESHEIMEE  was  nominated  for  Lieutenant-Go vernor 
by  Hon.  De  WITT  C.  LITTLEJOHN,  five  times  Speaker  of  the 
Assembly,  in  the  Democratic  State  Convention  which  met 
in  Syracuse  in  September.  Mr.  LITTLEJOHN  claimed  the 
nomination  "  in  behalf  of  the  thirty  thousand  Liberals  of  the 
State,"  and  presented  his  candidate  in  a  characteristically 
vigorous  and  magnetic  speech.  The  nomination  was 
seconded  by  Hon.  A.  P.  LANING,  of  Buffalo,  at  present  sit- 
ting in  the  Senate  from  the  thirty-first  district,  and  ratified 
by  the  convention.  Mr.  DOESHEIMEE  was  nominated  on  the 
first  ballot,  and  a  motion  to  make  the  nomination  unani- 
mous was  adopted  with  three  cheers.  In  the  election  that 
followed  he  defeated  General  JOHN"  C.  ROBINSON,  by  the 
rousing  majority  of  51,  488. 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  is  President  of  the  Senate  and 
has  the  casting  vote  therein ;  is  a  member  of  the  Canal  Board ; 
is  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Land  Office ;  is  one  of 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Canal  Fund ;  is  one  of  the  Trustees 
respectively,  of  the  Capitol,  the  Idiot  Asylum  and  the  State 


20  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Hall.  He  is  also,  ex  officio,  one  of  the  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
versity. 

Mr.  DOKSHEIMER  is  an  honored  citizen  of  Buffalo.  One  of 
the  founders  and  original  officers  of  the  Fine  Arts  Academy 
and  of  the  Buffalo  Historical  Society,  he  has  borne  a  part 
and  done  his  full  share,  with  brain  and  purse,  in  pretty  much 
all  that  has  been  achieved  for  the  improvement  and  elevation 
of  the  city  since  he  came  to  man's  estate. 

The  Buffalo  Courier,  in  commenting  upon  his  nomina- 
tion, expressed  itself  as  follows : 

"  In  the  election  of  the  Hon  WILLIAM  DORSHEIMER,  Esq., 
of  this  city,  as  the  Liberal  Democratic  candidate  for  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor,  the  convention  has  appropriately  recog- 
nized the  claims  of  a  gentleman  whose  distinguished  ability, 
rare  culture  and  influence  in  public  affairs  long  since  secured 
for  him  more  than  a  State  reputation.  With  a  strong  natu- 
ral aptitude  for  the  pursuit  of  politics  in  their  higher  sense,  Mr. 
DOKSHEIMER  brings  to  their  discussion  a  keen  intelligence, 
a  rare  culture  and  grace  in  expression  which  have  secured  to 
him  a  high  rank  among  the  orators  and  leading  men  of  the 
State.  A  lawyer  by  profession,  he  early  won  and  has  since 
retained  an  honorable  place  among  the  most  distinguished 
members  of  the  bar.  As  a  citizen,  as  a  lawyer,  as  a  states- 
man, Mr.  Dorsheimer  is  entitled  to  and  enjoys  in  an  unusual 
degree,  the  confidence,  the  respect,  and  the  admiration  of  the 
people." 

Mr.  DORSHEIMER'S  inaugural  address,  on  assuming  the 
Presidency,  is  a  model  paper  of  its  kind —  short  and  pointed. 
We  give  it  entire,  in  concluding  this  sketch  : 

"  SENATORS  :  I  appear  here  to  enter  upon  the  duty  which 
the  law  imposes  upon  me  of  presiding  over  the  sessions  of 
the  Senate. 

"  I  am  without  the  training  which  legislative  experience 
alone  can  give,  and  which  most  of  my  predecessors  have  had. 
I  shall,  therefore,  need  your  indulgence  and  assistance,  in 
return  for  which  I  assure  you  that  I  shall  endeavor  to  do  my 
duties  without  partiality  or  prejudice. 


WILLIAM  DORSHEIMER.  21 

"  Insomuch  as  it  is  only  under  special  and  infrequent  cir- 
cumstances that  1  am  called  upon  to  take  part  in  your  action, 
it  would  not  be  suitable  for  me  to  discuss  any  of  the  matters 
that  are  likely  to  engage  your  attention,  but  I  will  venture 
to  express  the  hope,  which  I  am  confident  will  be  fully  real- 
ized, that  your  labors  here  may  meet  with  the  approval  of 
your  several  constituencies,  and  tend  to  the  prosperity  and 
advancement  of  the  State." 


22  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


DIEDRICH  WILLERS,  JR. 

SECRETARY   OF   STATE. 

In  the  person  of  the  present  Secretary  of  State,  we  have 
the  first  example,  under  our  present  State  Constitution,  of  an 
elective  State  officer  who  has  arisen  through  the  various 
gradations,  from  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder  to  the  top- 
most, through  the  positions  of  Clerk  and  Deputy,  to  that  of 
head  of  the  Department,  a  notable  instance  of  the  workings 
of  "  Civil  Service  Eeform." 

Mr.  WILLERS  was  born  of  German  parentage,  in  the  town 
of  Varick,  county  of  Seneca,  where  he  still  resides,  on  the 
third  day  of  November,  1833. 

His  father,  Reverend  DIEDRICH  WILLERS,  D.  D.,  a  native 
of  Bremen,  Germany,  who  is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age 
of  seventy-seven  years  (left  an  orphan  in  early  childhood), 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  enlisted  in  the  army  of  Hanover,  for 
the  defense  of  his  fatherland,  against  the  French  invader. 
He  was  an  active  participant  with  the  allied  forces  under  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  at  the  memorable  three  days'  battle  of 
Waterloo,  in  Belgium,  in  June,  1815,  against  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  and  received  a  silver  medal  for  bravery  in  action. 

After  a  military  service  of  five  years,  he  left  the  army,  and 
having  spent  a  short  time  with  his  friends,  he  embarked  for 
America,  in  the  year  1819,  and  landed  in  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, in  November  of  that  year,  with  only  a  few  dollars  in  his 
pocket,  but  possessed  of  industry  and  perseverence,  those 
indispensable  requisites  to  success.  Following  a  purpose 
formed  in  early  life,  he  took  up  the  study  of  theology,  to 
which  he  had  previously  given  much  thought  and  reading. 
After  a  course  of  study  under  private  tutors,  he  was  licensed 
in  the  ministry  and  accepted  a  call  to  preach  to  congrega- 
tions in  Seneca  county,  New  York,  in  April,  1821,  and  has 


Respectfully  yours 


Sc&rtfary  of  Sl>a3>6 


DlEDRlCH    WlLLEBS,   Jit.  23 

continued  in  the  uninterrupted  discharge  of  ministerial  duty, 
preaching  in  the  German  and  English  languages,  to  his  con- 
gregations in  that  county,  to  the  present  time,  a  continuous 
period  of  nearly  fifty-four  years.  * 

As  a  clergyman  he  is  highly  esteemed  and  influential  in 
his  denomination,  and  a  number  of  years  ago  received  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  from  Franklin  and 
Marshall  College,  at  Lancaster,  Penn. 

The  mother  of  Secretary  WILLERS,  still  living,  was  born 
in  New  Holland,  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  of  German  parent- 
age, her  ancestry  having  migrated  to  this  country,  from  the 
Palatinate,  over  150  years  ago. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  the  sixth  of  a  family  of 
eight  children.  Every  one  familiar  with  "  life  in  a  country 
parsonage  "  will  know  something  of  the  trials  and  privations 
of  the  hard-worked  and  poorly-paid  country  pastor. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  young  WILLERS  thus 
early  became  accustomed  to  a  life  of  toil.  Residing  in  a 
rural  community,  his  time  was  divided  between  working  upon 
a  farm  in  summer  and  attending  a  district  school  in  winter. 

With  the  exception  of  two  terms  of  instruction  at  the 
Seneca  Falls  Academy,  during  one  of  which,  in  1853,  he 
recited  to  Gilbert  C.  Walker,  late  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Virginia,  his  course  of  study  was  confined  to  the  district 
school,  and  to  instruction  in  German  and  the  classics  with 
his  father.  When  inquiry  is  made  as  to  his  Alma  Mater,  Mr. 
WILLERS  always  frankly  answers  that  he  is  a  graduate  of  a 
people's  college,  "  School  District  Number  Two,  Varick." 

Subsequently,  Mr.  WILLERS  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
district  schools  of  his  town,  commencing  his  first  term  at  the 
early  age  of  sixteen,  at  a  compensation  of  twelve  dollars  per 
month,  and  boarding  himself,  and  continued  in  this  vocation, 
when  not  laboring  upon  a  farm,  during  five  or  six  years. 

After  Mr.  WILLERS  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years,  he  entered  a  printing  office  with  a  view  to  learn  the 
printing  business,  and  to  enter  upon  an  editorial  career,  he 


24  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

having  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  political  press; 
but,  after  a  service  at  the  printer's  case  of  about  two  months, 
he  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  abandon  a  cherished  pursuit, 
oy  reason  of  ill -health,  from  which  he  suffered  for  several  years. 

Having,  at  intervals  of  toil,  devoted  himself  to  the  read- 
ing of  law  and  attended  a  course  of  instruction  at  the  Albany 
Law  University,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an  attorney 
at  law  a  number  of  years  ago,  but  he  has  never  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Designed  by  his  father  for  the  ministry,  he  however  early 
took  a  decided  interest  in  politics,  and  long  before  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  identifying  himself  with  the  Hard-Shell  branch 
of  the  Democracy,  and  casting  his  first  vote  for  Judge 
GREENE  C.  BRONSON,  for  Governor,  in  1854.  After  the  re- 
union of  the  party  in  1856,  Mr.  WILLERS  took  a  very  active 
part  in  the  presidential  canvass  of  that  year,  as  well  as  in  the 
canvass  of  1857. 

Upon  the  election  of  the  Democratic  State  ticket,  in  the 
fall  of  1857,  Mr.  W.  was  appointed  by  Hon.  GIDEON  J. 
TUCKER,  Secretary  of  State,  to  a  clerkship  in  his  office,  upon 
the  duties  of  which  position  he  entered  in  January  following, 
and  in  which,  by  industry  and  faithfulness,  he  soon  won  the 
confidence  of  his  chief,  and  was  re-appointed  by  Hon.  DAVID 
R.  FLOYD  JONES,  and  served  with  him  during  his  term  as 
Secretary  of  State  in  1860  and  1861. 

Although  Mr.  WILLERS  actively  supported  Mr.  JONES  for 
re-election,  and  the  entire  Democratic  ticket,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  November,  1861,  he  was,  without  solicitation  on  his 
part,  re-appointed  by  Hon.  HORATIO  BALLARD,  and  remained 
in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  during  the  years  1862 
and  1863. 

Upon  the  expiration  of  Mr.  BALLARD'S  term,  Mr.  WILLERS 
was  appointed  by  Governor  SEYMOUR  as  his  Private  Secre- 
tary, and  served  as  such  during  the  most  trying  period  of 
the  late  civil  war. 


DlEDRWH    WlLLERS,  JR.  25 

How  well  Mr.  WILLERS  served  in  this  capacity,  the  com- 
plimentary remarks  made  by  Governor  SEYMOUR,  in  the 
.Democratic  State  Convention  at  Utica,  in  October,  1873,. 
upon  the  occasion  of  Mr.  WILLERS'  second  nomination  for 
Secretary  of  State,  will  best  attest,  when  he  said : 

"  Havfng  known  Mr.  WILLERS  for  many  years,  having 
been  closely  associated  with  him  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  I 
can  say  that  in  my  opinion  there  is  no  man  in  the  State  whom 
I  conld  vote  for,  for  this  position,  with  more  pleasure  than  I 
can  vote  for  DIEDRICH  WILLERS,  Jr.  He  is  not  only  an 
honorable,  capable  and  honest  man,  but  a  faithful  one.  Dur- 
ing all  the  time  he  was  in  that  office,  he  was  never  known  to 
be  absent  from  his  post  of  duty.  For  this  office  you  want  a 
man  who  will  faithfully  discharge  its  duties  himself,  and  Mr. 
WILLERS  is  the  man  of  all  others  to  do  this.  It  is  no  mere 
form,  when  we  take  up  a  man  who  has  performed  his  duties 
at  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder,  and  lift  him  to  the  highest. 
It  means  that  there  is  true  merit  in  the  man.  I  have  known 
Mr.  WILLERS  long  and  well,  as  I  have  already  said.  I  knew 
him  all  through  the  trying  time,  when  I  was  Governor,  and 
of  all  the  men  surrounding  me  and  my  office,  I  found  no 
man  upon  whom  I  could  rely  with  more  implicit  confidence." 

Keturning,  at  the  close  of  his  term  of  service  with  Governor 
SEYMOUR  in  December,  1864,  to  his  home  in  Seneca  county, 
Mr.  WILLERS  resumed  his  old  occupation  as  a  farmer,  and  in 
March,  1865,  was  elected  supervisor  of  his  native  town,  and 
was  re-elected  the  year  following,  serving  as  chairman  of  the 
board  both  years,  and  rendering  great  assistance  to  his  town 
and  county  in  the  adjustment  of  war  accounts,  at  the  close 
of  the  war. 

In  March,  1867,  Mr.  WILLERS  was  appointed,  by  President 
JOHNSON,  to  a  clerkship  in  the  office  of  the  Second  Auditor 
of  the  Treasury,  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  which  position  he 
held  to  the  close  of  that  year. 

The  Democratic  State  ticket  having  been  elected  in  the 
fall  of  1867,  Mr.  WILLERS  was  appointed  as  Deputy  Secre- 
tary of  State,  by  Hon.  HOMER  A.  NELSON,  which  position  he 


26  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

filled  with  great  acceptance  to  the  public  for  four  years, 
developing  executive  ability  of  a  high  order. 

In  the  summer  of  1871,  the  name  of  Mr.  WILLERS  was 
extensively  canvassed  by  the  Democratic  press  for  the  nomin- 
ation of  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  NELSON  declining  a 
reuomination  in  favor  of  his  deputy. 

After  a  sharp  preliminary  canvass,  during  which  Nearly  all 
the  older  or  managing  politicians  of  the  party  opposed  his 
nomination,  the  friends  of  Mr.  WILLERS  being  strongly  in 
the  ascendancy  at  the  Democratic  State  Convention  at  Roch- 
ester, he  was  nominated  by  acclamation  for  Secretary  of  State. 

Although  the  Democratic  State  ticket  was  borne  down  by 
adverse  circumstances  in  the  disastrous  campaign  of  1871, 
Mr.  WILLERS  handsomely  led  his  associates  upon  the  ticket, 
receiving  the  highest  vote  cast  for  any  nominee  of  his  party 
in  that  year. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1872,  Mr.  WILLERS  received 
from  Governor  HOFFMAN  the  appointment  of  Assistant  Pay- 
master General  with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  was  detailed 
for  duty  in  the  Executive  Chamber,  in  charge  of  the  exam- 
ination of  bills  passed  by  the  Legislature,  for  which  his 
extensive  acquaintance  with  statutory  law  and  the  machinery 
of  our  State  Government  particularly  fitted  him. 

Upon  retiring  from  the  Executive  Chamber,  Mr.  WILLERS 
received,  in  January,  1873,  an  appointment  as  one  of  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Constitutional  Commission,  then  in  session 
at  Albany. 

After  the  final  adjournment  of  the  Commission  in  March, 
1873,  Mr.  WILLERS  returned  to  his  home,  where  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  active  duties  of  farm  life  during  the  year. 

His  name  having  been  canvassed  by  the  Democratic  press 
in  the  summer  of  1873  for  the  nomination  of  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  WILLERS  was  again  strongly  opposed  by  active 
leading  political  managers  who  usually  make  up  the  party 
slates,  but  after  a  sharp  canvass,  and  notwithstanding  a  fac- 
tious opposition  in  the  Convention,  he  was  again  unan- 


DlEDRICH    WlLLERS,   JR.  27 

imonsly  nominated  by  the  Democratic  State  Convention  held 
at  Utica,  and  his  nomination  was  indorsed  at  the  Liberal 
Kepublican  State  Convention  held  at  Elmira,  in  the  same 
month. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  favorable  to  the  Democracy, 
and  Mr.  WILLERS  was  declared  elected  Secretary  of  State  by 
about  10,000  majority  over  Hon.  FRAXCIS  S.  THAYEE,  one 
of  the  most  popular  Republicans  in  the  State. 

Mr.  WILLERS  entered  upon  his  office  with  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  duties  thereof  and  of  the  machinery  of 
the  State  Government,  and  having  an  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  politics  and  public  men  of  the  State. 

Emphatically  a  man  of  the  people,  self-made,  a  determined 
enemy  of  all  rings  and  monopolies,  aiming  at  the  rights 
of  the  people ;  courteous,  attentive,  faithful  and  capable,  he 
entered  upon  office  under  the  most  favorable  auspices.  Dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  his  term  he  has  been  constant  in  his 
attendance  at  his  office  (giving  his  personal  attention  to  the 
daily  routine  of  business),  and  at  the  meetings  of  State  Boards 
of  which  he  is  a  member,  his  votes  having  always  been  cast 
in  the  interest  of  economy,  reform  and  the  best  interests  of 
the  people. 

Although  active  as  a  Democratic  politician,  and  a  frequent 
delegate  at  State  and  County  Conventions,  he  has  preserved 
a  deserved  personal  popularity  wherever  he  is  best  known, 
and  when  running  as  a  candidate  he  received  the  highest 
majority  ever  given  to  a  Democratic  nominee  in  his  town 
and  county. 

Reserved  and  modest  in  demeanor,  firm  and  decided  in  his 
convictions  of  duty,  Mr.  WILLERS  has  always  carefully 
guarded  the  public  interests,  and  is,  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
term,  a  "  Reformer." 

The  career  of  Mr.  WILLERS  affords  another  illustration 
how,  under  our  form  of  Government,  the  humblest  citizen 
may,  by  pursuing  right  paths,  attain  to  high  positions  of 
honor  and  trust. 


28  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

NELSON  K.  HOPKINS, 

COMPTROLLER. 

The  family  of  Hon.  NELSON  K.  HOPKINS,  Comptroller  of 
the  State,  was  of  New  England  origin.     His  father,  General 
TIMOTHY  S.  HOPKINS,   emigrated  in  the    year  1800  from 
Great   Barrington,  Mass.,  to  Williamsville,  a  small  town  in 
the  vicinity  of  Buffalo,  in  the  then  county  of  Niagara.     By 
occupation  a  farmer,  he  was  a  man   of  sterling  sense   and 
worth,  and  held  various  public  offices  of  trust  and  honor, 
both  in  the   civil  and  military  service.     He  was  commis- 
sioned as  a  Captain  by  Gov.  GEORGE  CLINTON,  as  Major,  by 
Gov.  MORGAN  LEWIS,  and  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Briga- 
dier-General, by  Gov.  DANIEL  D.  TOMPKINS.    NELSON,  the 
second  of  the  five  sons  now   living,    was   born  on  the  2d  of 
March,  1819.     He  remained  on  the  farm  until  he  was  about 
sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  attended  school  for  a  time  at 
Fredonia,  in  the  county  of  Chautauqua.  From  1838  to  1840, 
he  was  a  student  in  the  Genesee  Wesleyan   Seminary,  at 
Lima,  where  he  completed  his  collegiate  preparations,  and  in 
the  spring  of  the  latter  year  entered  the  sophomore  class  of 
Union    College,   graduating    in   1842  with   high   standing. 
Among  his  classmates  were  several  who  have  since  attained 
distinction,  including  Hon.  CLARKSON  N.    POTTER,  member 
of  Congress,  and  Hon.  JAMES  WOOD,  late  of  the  State  Senate. 
In  connection  with  the  latter,  an  interesting  circumstance  is 
related  of  young  HOPKINS.     The  two  students,  as  was  not 
unfrequent  among  their  associates,  visited  Albany  on  one 
occasion,  and  neither  being  blessed  with  a  surplus  of  money, 
they  found  themselves,  at  the  close  of  their  stay,  without 
the  means  of  returning.     In  this  exigency,  nothing  daunted, 
the  spirited    young  men    started  on   foot,  and    faithfully 
trudged  all  the  way  from  Albany  to  Schenectady. 


NELSON  K.  HOPKINS.  29 

Even  before  entering  college,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
had  evinced  strong  force  of  character  and  energy  of  pur- 
pose. At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  had  been  elected  captain 
of  a  company  in  the  State  militia,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
"Patriot  War,"  which  centered  about  the  Niagara  river, 
though  still  a  student  at  Lima,  he  was  called  home  to  enter 
the  service  with  his  company,  and  for  a  month  had  command 
of  Black  Kock,  in  the  vicinity  of  Buffalo.  Eeturning  from 
college,  Mr.  HOPKINS  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Hon.  ELBRIDGE  G-.  SPAULDING,  at  Buffalo,  and,  in  1846,  was 
admitted  as  an  attorney.  From  the  very  first,  he  has  en- 
joyed an  honorable1  and  lucrative  practice.  He  has  especially 
had  confided  to  him  the  most  delicate  duties  in  the  settle- 
ment of  estates,  the  establishment  of  titles  and  all  that  branch 
of  professional  service,  and,  in  these  positions  of  fiduciary 
trust,  has  secured  the  highest  respect  for  his  honor,  fidelity 
and  capacity.  In  1848,  he  married  the  only  daughter  of  Hon. 
ORLANDO  ALLEN.  This  union  was  severed  by  death  in  1853. 
In  1855  he  married  his  present  wife,  who  is  the  eldest 
daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  HIKAM  PRATT,  and  a  most  estim- 
able lady.  His  family  consists  of  five  children,  one  by  his 
first  wife  and  four  by  his  second. 

Although  Mr.  HOPKINS  has  always  been  actively  engaged 
in  professional  labors,  he  has,  at  various  times,  been  called  to 
serve  his  fellow-citizens.  Frequently  elected  supervisor  and 
alderman,  he  was  also  one  year  president  of  the  common 
council.  In  1866,  he  was  appointed  Collector  of  Internal 
Kevenue,  and  filled  that  position  with  credit  and  satisfac- 
tion. He  has  also  been  for  many  years  a  director  and  attor- 
ney of  White's  Bank  at  Buffalo  ;  attorney  for  the  Western 
Savings  Bank ;  life-member  of  the  Young  Men's  Association ; 
trustee  of  the  Free  Grosvenor  Library,  and  has  held  many 
positions  o'f  public  and  professional  trust,  attesting  the  high 
esteem  with  which  he  is  regarded  by  the  community  where 
he  lives.  Such  was  the  great  respect  entertained  for  him  by 
those  among  whom  he  has  always  resided,  and  such  their 


30  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

elevated  opinion,  especially  of  the  conscientiousness  and 
ability  for  financial  administration  which  he  has  displayed 
through  his  career,  that  without  his  own  solicitation  or  knowl- 
edge, he  was  unanimously  presented  by  the  Erie  delegation 
at  the  Kepublican  State  Convention  of  1871,  as  a  candidate 
for  Comptroller,  and  promptly  nominated.  He  and  his  as- 
sociates were  recognized  as  embodying  the  reform  sentiment 
then  so  pronounced  among  the  people,  and  the  ticket  was 
elected  by  a  handsome  majority. 

Mr.  HOPKINS  having  served  the  State  for  two  years,  and 
made  a  shining  reputation  for  ability  and  integrity,  the  dele- 
gates to  the  Kepublican  State  Convention  of  1873,  were 
unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  one  good  term,  such  as  his, 
pre-eminently  deserved  another,  and  accordingly,  when  the 
time  came  to  name  a  candidate  for  Comptroller,  NELSON 
K.  HOPKINS  was  renominated  by  acclamation,  amid  the 
hearty  applause  of  the  convention.  This  nomination  was 
also  made  by  the  Liberals,  and  on  election  day,  the  people 
handsomely  ratified  it.  Mr.  HOPKINS,  although  he  was 
figured  out  badly  defeated  the  morning  after  the  November 
election,  was  a  few  days  after  shown,  by  the  official  vote,  to 
have  been  successful  by  a  majority  of  4,065.  This  result, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  rest  of  the  State  ticket  met  with 
very  "heavy  weather,"  was  peculiarly  gratifying.  It  was 
celebrated  in  a  befitting  manner  by  the  members  of  the  Re- 
publican General  Committee  and  the  Unconditional  Political 
Club  of  Albany,  who,  accompanied  by  a  goodly  number  of 
the  other  leading  Eepublicans  of  the  city,  serenaded,  paid 
their  respects  and  offered  their  congratulations  to  Mr.  HOP- 
KINS a  few  evenings  ai'ter  his  election.  Ex-Governor  Dix, 
who  was  serenaded  on  the  route,  made  a  speech,  in  which 
he  said : 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  —  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  this 
friendly  call  on  me.  It  is  the  more  gratifying  because  it  affords 
me  the  opportunity  of  saying  to  you  how  cordially  I  concur 
in  the  principal  object  of  your  demonstration  to-night  —  to 


NELSON  K.  HOPKINS.  31 

congratulate  Mr.  HOPKINS  on  his  re-election  to  the  office  of 
Comptroller  of  the  State.  His  success,  and  the  popular 
approval  he  has  received,  are  a  just  and  well-merited  tribute 
to  a  faithful,  efficient  and  conscientious  public  officer.  In- 
deed, I  should  have  regarded  his  defeat,  at  this  juncture,  as  a 
calamity  to  the  State.  We  all  know  that  in  past  years,  and 
years  not  very  remote,  there  has  been  in  the  administration  of 
our  finances  much  which  was  loose,  much  which  was  unau- 
thorized and  wasteful,  and  some  things  which,  in  my  judg- 
ment, were  in  violation  of  our  faith  to  public  creditors. 
These  wrongs  I  know  Mr.  HOPKINS  to  be  earnestly  desirous 
of  redressing,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that,  with  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Legislature,  the  good  work  may  be  accomplished 
within  the  time  for  which  he  has  been  re-elected. 

The  Comptroller  himself  was  found  in  one  of  the  spacious 
parlors  of  Congress  Hall,  and  an  informal  reception  was 
held,  during  which  nearly  all  of  the  Eepublicans  present 
took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  afforded  to  personally 
congratulate  him  on  his  re-election  and  the  victory  he  had 
achieved.  Hand-shaking  over,  the  party  proceeded  to  the 
front  of  the  building,  and  after  several  airs  had  been  per- 
formed by  the  band,  Mr.  H.  made  his  appearance  on  the 
piazza,  and  after  being  introduced  to  the  large  crowd  in 
attendance  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Central  Committee,  he 
spoke  as  follows: 

CITIZENS  OF  ALBANY  —  Accept  my  sincere  thanks  for 
the  compliment  of  this  beautiful  serenade.  I  do  not  receive 
it  as  personal  to  myself,  but  as  an  expression  of  your  satis- 
faction at  the  popular  indorsement,  so  far  as  they  were  rep- 
resented in  my  candidacy,  of  the  principles  and  the  public 
policy  to  which  we  are  all  equally  attached.  However  glad  I 
should  personally  feel  to  be  relieved  of  the  onerous  duties  of 
the  Comptrollership,  I  share  your  congratulations  upon  the 
measure  of  success  which  attends  our  good  cause.  Beyond 
sincerely  shrinking  from  another  term  of  the  always  exact- 
ing and  seldom  agreeable  labors  of  the  office,  my  gratifi- 
cation in  this  hour  of  rejoicing,  like  yours,  is  only  tem- 
pered by  the  reflection  that  some  of  your  excellent  and 
worthy  candidates  have  been  defeated  at  the  polls.  But 
it  is  a  matter  of  satisfaction  that  the  canvass  through  which 
we  have  passed  has  been  marked,  on  both  sides,  by  so  little 


32  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

of  personal  criticism,  and  has  left  so  little  of  personal  feel- 
ing, and  I  trust  that  it  may  be  found  that  the  officers  you 
have  chosen,  and  who  will  be  associated  in  the  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs,  however  much  they  maylliffer  in  their 
political  affiliations,  will  be  able  to  rise  above  all  merely  par- 
tizan  considerations  and  work  together  in  harmony  for  the 
public  good. 

The  great  need  of  the  present  timeis  honesty  and  economy 
in  the  management  of  public  trusts.  It  is  a  time  to  enforce 
retrenchment  of  expenditures,  reduction  of  taxation  and  re- 
lief of  the  popular  burdens  whenever  practicable.  During 
the  period  of  my  service  I  have  tried  faithfully  to  fulfill 
these  duties,  and,  so  far  as  the  popular  expression  is  an  ap- 
proval of  thafce  labors,  it  will  be  an  encouragement  and  a 
stimulus  to  still  more  earnest  efforts  in  the  same  direction. 

None  of  his  predecessors  have  received  more  general  and 
cordial  commendation  than  Mr.  HOPKINS  has  for  the  sleep- 
less vigilance  with  which  he  has  guarded  the  interests  of  the 
State,  and  the  marked  ability  with  which  he  has  administered 
its  finances.  At  the  outset,  Mr.  HOPKINS  adopted  the  rule 
of  giving  the  most  careful  scrutiny  to  every  matter  coming 
before  him,  and  this  rule  he  has  scrupulously  observed, 
transacting  the  business  of  the  State  with  the  same  care  and 
watchfulness  and  frugality  which  he  would  carry  into  the 
conduct  of  private  business.  •  He  reduced  the  number  of 
assistants  in  his  office,  subjected  every  claim  to  rigorous  in- 
spection, and  made  the  auditing  of  accounts  something 
more  than  a  mere  ministerial  duty.  So  great  is  the  confi- 
dence felt  in  his  integrity  and  discretion  that  the  Legislature 
has  invested  him  with  larger  powers  over  the  expenditures  of 
appropriations  in  connection  with  public  institutions  than 
were  ever  before  confided  to  the  Comptroller  and  it  is  not 
an  undue  estimate  to  say  that  by  his  prudence  and  firmness 
he  has  saved  the  State  at  least  half  a  million  dollars.  Not 
only  in  his  practical  administration  of  the  department,  but 
in  his  official  discussions  and  recommendations,  he  has 
shown  conspicuous  talent  for  the  position.  His  annual  re- 
ports presented  to  the  Legislature  have  attracted  unusual 


NELSON  K.  HOPKINS.  33 

attention,  and  commanded  the  hearty  and  unreserved  ap- 
probation of  men  and  journals  of  all  parties,  for  their  in- 
comparably clear  exposition  of  State  finances,  and  their  val- 
uable suggestions.  The  general  judgment  is  that  they  fairly 
rank  among  the  best  of  our  State  papers. 

Always  among  his  own  neighbors,  and  now  throughout 
the  State,  Comptroller  HOPKINS  is  respected  for  his  un- 
swerving probity,  his  sound  judgment,  and  his  large  ability. 
Personally  he  is  a  man  of  strong  friendships,  warmly  at- 
taching to  himself  those  with  whom  he  is  brought  into  con- 
tact. Frank,  direct  and  outspoken,  he  is  at  the  same  time 
cordial  and  unaffected,  and  his  fine,  clear-cut  features  ex- 
press at  once  a  firm  decision  of  character  and  winning  amia- 
bility of  disposition.- 
3 


34  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


DANIEL  PRATT, 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Hon.  DANIEL  PRATT,  Attorney-General,  was  born  in 
Washington  county  in  1806  —  a  county  which  gave  birth  to 
such  well  known  men  as  Judges  SAVAGE,  COWAN,  GRAY, 
PARKER,  BACON  and  Judge  NELSON  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  The  parents  of  Judge  PRATT  were  of 
New  England  origin,  and  in  early  life  the  mind  of  their  son 
was  embued  with  the  positive  qualities  and  sturdy  strength 
that  characterized  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims.  Judge 
PRATT'S  boyhood  was  passed  in  attending  school  in  the 
winter,  and  working  on  his  father's  farm  at  other  times. 
At  school  he  easily  led  all  the  scholars,  and  was  recognized 
as  the  brightest  boy  in  all  the  region  round.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  taught  a  district  school,  and  was  looked  upon 
by  every  one  as  a  prodigy. 

In  early  life  he  .placed  his  mark  high  and  determined  to 
work  his  way  up  to  it,  unaided  by  any  one.  Entering  Cam- 
bridge Academy,  Washington  county,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  he  remained  there  fifteen  months.  In  1833,  he  entered 
the  junior  class  of  Union  College  —  a  class  of  which,  it  is 
interesting  to  note,  WILLIAM  CASSIDY,  the  late  brilliant 
and  accomplished  editor  of  the  Argus,  was  a  member.  So 
complete  and  thorough  was  his  preparation  that  he  found 
no  difficulty  in  entering  this  advanced  class.  Mathematics 
and  Greek  were  his  favorite  studies,  and  to  these  and  the  rest 
of  his  curriculum,  he  devoted  twelve  hours  out  of  every  twen- 
ty-four. He  graduated  in  1835,  taking  the  highest  honors 
in  his  class.  Then  the  struggle  with  the  world  for  fame 
really  began.  He  determined  to  strike  out  into  new  fields, 
and  journeyed  to  Memphis  on  a  visit  to  an  acquaintance. 
He  remained  there  some  time  employed  in  teaching  a  select 
school,  where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  late  D.  D. 


DANIEL  PRATT.  35 

HILLS,  at  that  time  a  lawyer  in  Camillas.  Mr.  HILLS  was 
greatly  impressed  by  the  strength  of  mind  and  brilliant  tal- 
ents of  his  new  acquaintance,  and  invited  him  to  study  law 
in  his  office. 

Judge  PEATT  studied  hard  and  determined  to  master  the 
intricacies  of  his  arduous  profession,  not  content  with  merely 
grasping  the  rudiments.  In  1836  he  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  Supreme  Court.  He  removed  with  Mr.  HILLS  to 
Syracuse,  and  formed  a  copartnership  with  him.  The  firm 
at  once  took  a  front  rank  in  a  profession  already  over- 
crowded and  adorned  by  leading  minds.  Their  business 
relations  continued  until  1843. 

Under  the  Constitution  prior  to  1846,  the  judges  were 
appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Senate,  and  in  1843,  Gov- 
ernoi^  WILLIAM  C.  BOUCK  appointed  DANIEL  PEATT  Judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Onondaga  county,  a  posi- 
tion he  held  until  the  Constitution  of  1846  went  into  opera- 
tion in  the  beginning  of  1848.  For  four  years  he  held  this 
position,  discharging  his  onerous  duties  with  an  impartiality, 
fairness  and  justice  that  won  the  admiration  of  the  entire 
bar  of  the  State.  His  opinions  and  decisions,  officially  pro- 
mulgated, were  characterized  by  sound  judgment,  practical 
common  sense  and  eminent  learning,  which  characteristics 
are  the  important  elements  of  his  character.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  1846  divided  the  State  into  eight  judicial  districts, 
and  the  Democracy  of  the  counties  of  Onondaga,  Oneida, 
Oswego,  Herkimer,  Jefferson  and  Lewis,  forming  the  Fifth 
Judicial  District,  nominated  Mr.  PEATT  as  one  of  their  can- 
didates for  Supreme  Court  Judge.  He  was  triumphantly 
elected,  and  discharged  the  duties  so  acceptably  that  he  was 
renominated  in  1851,  and  re-elected,  serving  until  January, 
1859.  His  career  as  a  judge  met  the  approval  of  all  parties 
by  reason  of  his  impartiality,  while  his  opinions  on  cases 
brought  before  him  were  considered  among  the  ablest  that 
issued  from  any  judge  on  the  bench  of  the  State. 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  bench,  Judge  PEATT  formed 


36  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

a  partnership  with  D.  J.  MITCHELL,  Esq.,  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  advocates  in  the  State,  and  WILBER  M.  BROWN, 
an  eminent  office  lawyer.  The  firm  at  once  took  a  com- 
manding position  as  one  of  the  strongest  in  the  State,  and 
still  continues.  Judge  PRATT  was  appointed  by  Governor 
HOFFMAN  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Commission,  where 
he  at  once  took  a  leading  position  by  his  sound  judgment, 
his  great  legal  ability,  and  his  eminent  learning.  His  posi- 
tion in  the  profession  is  also  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
Impeachment  Committee  of  the  Assembly  of  1872  selected 
him  as  one  of  their  counsel  to  conduct  the  celebrated  trial 
of  the  notorious  Judge  BARNARD.  In  politics  Judge  PRATT 
has  always  been  a  Democrat  and  an  unwavering  supporter 
of  the  party. 

Judge  PRATT  was  elected  to  his  present  honorable  and  re- 
sponsible position  by  a  majority  of  10,111  over  BENJAMIN  D. 
SILLIMAN.  The  Syracuse  Courier,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  many  of  the  facts  in  the  above  sketch,  in  summing  up  a 
brief  biographical  notice  of  the  present  Attorney-General  of 
the  State,  says : 

Judge  PRATT  is  a  positive  man  whose  clear  and  quick  per- 
ceptions, sound  judgment  and  practical  common  sense 
impress  most  forcibly  all  who  come  in  contact  with  him.  As  a 
citizen  he  is  universally  esteemed  and  respected,  while  his 
charitable  nature  always  displayed  in  an  unostentatious 
manner  has  endeared  him  to  those  toward  whom  it  has 
been  exercised.  As  a  lawyer,  Judge  PRATT  occupies  the 
front  rank  in  the  profession.  Firm  as  a  rock  when  bat- 
tling for  the  right,  his  mind  is  unswayed  by  extraneous 
circumstances.  His  integrity  is  acknowledged  by  all,  and 
not  a  breath  of  suspicion  was  ever  raised  by  a  political  or 
legal  foe.  Judge  PRATT  is  a  Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian 
school.  He  is  a  Democrat  from  principle,  and  his  wisdom 
and  counsels  are  often  consulted  by  party  leaders.  He  adds 
dignity  to  the  office. 


THOMAS  RAINES.  37 


THOMAS  KAINES, 

STATE  TBEASUBEB. 

THOMAS  RAINES,  the  present  Treasurer  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  is  one  of  the  youngest  men  ever  chosen  by  the 
people  for  a  position  of  so  much  importance.  He  is  now  in 
his  thirty-second  year,  and  was  first  called  to  preside  over  the 
Treasury  when  but  twenty-nine.  The  American  people, 
however,  have  regard  rather  to  ability  than  years,  agreeing 
with  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  that  youth  is  not  that  sort  of  an 
"  atrocious  crime  "  which  stands  in  need  of  any  palliation  or 
denial. 

Mr.  RAINES  was  born  at  Canandaigua,  Ontario  county, 
N.  Y.,  on  the  13th  of  August,  1842.  He  is  of  English 
descent  on  his  father's  side,  and  Scotch  on  his  mother's.  His 
grandfather,  JOHN"  RAINES,  a  sturdy  Englishman,  was  born 
in  1784.  At  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight  he  had  acquired  a 
large  fortune  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  cares  of  business,  had  found  time  while  amassing  it  to 
fulfill  the  duties  of  the  sacred  office.  He  was  the  regularly 
installed  minister  of  a  Methodist  congregation,  and  had  inti- 
mate relations  with  the  celebrated  divine,  ROBERT  HALL,  and 
other  illustrious  contemporaries. 

We  believe  the  historians  are  not  at  one,  as  yet,  as  to  the 
cause  that  induced  the  return  of  Napoleon  from  his  island 
retreat  at  Elba,  but  very  many  men  in  England,  France  and 
elsewhere,  knew  too  well  the  effect  of  the  re-appearance  of  the 
Little  Corporal.  JOHN  RAINES  was  one  of  these,  and  his 
financial  losses  were  so  heavy  as  to  induce  him  to  gather  up 
the  remnants  of  his  broken  fortune  and  try  to  better  his  con- 
dition in  America.  In  the  year  1821,  the  merchant-minister 
arrived  at  Philadelphia,  and  soon  after  commenced  the  busi- 
ness of  manufacturing  at  that  point.  The  usual  ups  and 
downs  marked  his  life  in  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love,  and 


38  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

after  being  twice  burned  out,  and  declining  an  offer  of  part- 
nership from  the  since  celebrated  THOMAS  TASKER,  he  aban- 
doned the  Keystone  for  the  Empire  State,  and  took  up  his 
residence  at  Canandaigua. 

The  father  of  the  Treasurer,  another  JOHN"  RAINES,  was 
born  at  Hull,  in  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  England,  in 
the  year  1818.  While  yet  an  infant  he  was  brought  to  this 
country  by  his  parents,  and  here  he  has  resided  ever  since. 

After  leaving  school,  and  until  his  twenty-seventh  year,  he 
followed  farming  for  a  living.  He  then  abandoned  secular 
pursuits  and  entered  the  ministry.  For  many  years  he  was 
widely  known  in  Western  New  York,  being  recognized  as 
standing  among  the  foremost  of  his  Methodist  brethren. 
Mrs.  RAINES,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  a 
Miss  MARY  REMINGTON.  Her  ancestors  came  from  New 
England,  but  she  herself  was  born  near  Canandaigua. 

The  leading  facts  in  the  life  of  the  Treasurer  are  about  as 
follows : 

After  receiving  the  usual  common  school  education,  and 
supplementing  it  with  a  good  deal  of  self-taught  instruction, 
he  closed  his  text-books  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen.  Those 
who  think  they  can  see  the  coming  oak  in  every  acorn,  will 
be  interested  in  knowing  that  the  future  financial  head  of 
the  State  left  behind  him,  at  the  common  school  from  which 
he  graduated,  a  reputation  for  unusual  proficiency  in  mathe- 
matics. Commencing  his  business  life  on  the  bottom  round 
of  the  long  ladder,  he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  a  store  at 
Lyons,  Wayne  county,  in  this  State,  at  an  annual  salary  of 
one  hundred  dollars.  His  industry,  talents  and  determina- 
tion soon  led  to  his  promotion,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
had  charge  of  the  books  of  a  large  mercantile  establishment. 
A  little  later  we  find  him  book-keeper  in  the  Bank  of  Canan- 
daigua, in  which  institution  his  education  in  fiscal  matters 
fairly  commenced.  Keeping  the  books  of  the  bank  for  a  year, 
he  developed  so  much  capacity  as  a  banker  that  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  acting  cashier. 


THOMAS  RAINES.  39 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  Mr.  RAINES  had  attained  a  broad 
and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  important  and  intricate 
branch  of  business  to  which  he  had  resolved  to  devote  his 
future,  and,  in  connection  with  a  number  of  capitalists  of 
western  New  York,  he  then  proceeded  to  start  a  National 
Bank,  one  of  the  first,  it  may  be  remarked,  ever  organized  in 
the  country.  This  bank  was  located  at  Geneva,  Ontario 
county,  and,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  RAINES,  enjoyed 
a  high  degree  of  prosperity. 

In  1867  he  removed  to  Eochester,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four,  became  financial  officer  of  the  Farmers  and 
Mechanics'  National  Bank  of  Rochester.  In  this  position 
he  continued  until  his  election  as  Treasurer  of  the  State  of 
New  York. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  1864,  Mr.  RAINES  was  married 
to  CHAEEIE,  daughter  of  Hon.  JOSEPH  HALSTEAD,  of 
Columbia  county.  She  died  on  the  5th  of  March,  1870,  to 
the  poignant  grief  of  a  large  circle  of  friends.  A  lady  of 
high  intellectual  endowment,  and  the  possessor  of  varied 
accomplishments,  she  was  in  very  deed  and  truth  a  helpmeet 
for  her  husband.  She  left  one  child,  a  girl,  who  died  in 
August,  1874.  In  September,  1874,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
AGNES  BULTEE,  a  lady  of  rare  cultivation,  and  held  in  high 
esteem  by  all  who  know  her. 

At  the  Republican  State  Convention,  which  met  at 
Syracuse,  in  September,  1871,  Mr.  RAINES  was  nominated 
by  acclamation  for  the  position  which  he  now  holds.  In 
the  canvass  that  followed,  he  made  a  most  gallant  fight, 
and  gained  the  day  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The 
estimation  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow-citizens  is 
shown  in  the  fact  of  his  running  nearly  a  thousand 
ahead  of  the  State  ticket  in  Rochester.  Almost  the 
entire  vote  of  the  ward,  in  which  he  resided,  was  cast 
for  him;  a  mark  of  esteem  and  confidence  of  which  any 
man  might  justly  be  proud.  Mr.  RAINES'  entire 


40  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

majority  in  the  State  was  21,784;  he  polled  the  highest  vote 
on  the  ticket. 

Mr.  EAINES  was  for  many  years  an  active  and  ardent  Ee- 
publican.  Sympathizing,  however,  with  the  Liberal  move- 
ment, he  attended  the  Cincinnati  Convention  and  helped 
place  HORACE  GEEELET  in  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 
His  position  and  ability  received  suitable  recognition  from 
the  Convention,  he  being  chosen  one  of  its  Vice-Presidents. 
Since  that  time  Mr.  EAIKES  has  acted  with  the  Liberals, 
and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party  in  this 
State.  At  the  Democratic  Convention,  called  to  nominate  a 
State  ticket,  at  Utica,  in  September  last,  Mr.  EAINES  was 
named  by  acclamation  for  the  office  which  he  now  holds, 
by  virtue  of  a  re-election.  The  mutations  of  our  politics  is 
thus  strikingly  illustrated  —  a  renomination  and  election  at 
the  hands  of  Democrats  and  Liberals  following  directly  after 
a  nomination  and  election  at  the  hands  of  Eepublicans ! 
Although  he  was.  embarrassed  in  his  canvass  by  the  defalca- 
tion of  one  of  his  clerks,  which  came  to  light  soon  after 
his  name  was  hoisted,  yet,  nevertheless,  he  led  all  the 
nominees  on  the  State  ticket,  save  the  State  Engineer,  and 
secured  his  election  by  the  handsome  majority  of  12,630. 

Since  his  induction  into  the  office  which  he  now  holds, 
Mr.  EAINES  has  justified  the  high  expectations  of  his  friends, 
demonstrating  both  his  capacity  and  disposition  to  wisely 
administer  the  finances  of  the  State. 

Entering  office  without  particular  political  experience,  but 
with  the  training  and  aptitude  of  a  successful  banker,  he  at 
once  displayed  quick  apprehensions,  a  ready  grasp  of  public 
questions,  a  clear  insight  into  State  polity  and  a  broad  under- 
standing, especially  of  its  fiscal  interests  and  public  works. 
He  initiated  in  the  Canal  Board,  at  an  early  day,  a  direct 
movement  for  the  repeal  of  the  repair  contracts.  Mr.  EAIKTES 
undertook  the  task  of  pushing  it  into  operation,  and  brought 
the  question  to  a  direct  issue  by  a  series  of  resolutions,  pre- 
sented in  the  board  shortly  after  his  entrance  into  office.  He 


THOMAS  RAINES.  41 

advocated,  in  1872,  '73  and  '74,  the  continuation  of  the  low 
toll  policy.  In  1875  he  opposed  the  further  reduction,  upon 
the  ground  of  constitutional  violation  and  the  insufficiency 
of  the  reduction,  it  failing  to  meet  the  railroad  tariff.  He  is 
opposed  to  levying  taxes  upon  commerce  and  also  to  taxing 
people  for  canal  expenses.  He  does  not  believe  in  the  policy 
of  the  State  owning  canals  or  railroads.  He  advocated  the 
payment  of  the  debt  of  the  State  in  coin.  This  act  alone 
entitles  him  to  the  gratitude  of  all  who  are  interested  in  the 
elevation  of  the  standard  of  public  morality.  The  estima- 
tion in  which  Mr.  RAINES  was  held  by  those  who  differed 
with  him  politically,  is  shown  in  the  tribute  paid  him  by 
the  Democrat  and  Chronicle,  the  leading  Republican  paper 
of  Rochester,  in  the  fall  of  1873,  when  the  danger  of  his 
becoming  the  nominee  of  the  Democracy  was  among  the 
possibilities.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Democrat 
and  Chronicle,  September  15,  of  that  year : 

"  He  made,  early  in  his  career,  an  earnest  effort  to  secure 
a  thorough  investigation  of  the  whole  management  of  canal 
affairs.  Believing,  from  personal  observation,  and  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  records  of  his  department,  that  the  popular  sus- 
picions as  to  its  extravagance  and  corruption  were  not 
unfounded,  he  called  upon  the  Legislature  for  a  complete 
examination.  His  speeches  delivered  before  the  Canal  Com- 
mittee of  the  Assembly,  last  winter,  on  the  necessity  of  re- 
trenchment in  canal  expenditures,  created  universal  interest. 
Mr.  RAINES  carried  his  point  in  reducing  the  appropriations 
to  the  extent  of  a  million  dollars,  a  curtailment  due  almost 
entirely  to  his  individual  efforts.  In  the  Canal  Board  he 
has  steadily  opposed  all  fraudulent  claims,  extravagant 
allowances  and  profligate  jobs,  exercising  ceaseless  vigilance 
in  detecting  and  baffling  every  species  of  dishonesty  which 
is  continually  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  this 
department  of  the  public  works." 


42  SYLVANUS  H.  SWEET. 


SYLVANUS  H.  SWEET, 

STATE    ENGINEER    AND    SUBVEYOK. 

SYLVANUS  H.  SWEET,  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor,  is  a 
native  of  Oswego  county,  New  York,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late 
GAEKET  C.  SWEET,  of  Phoenix,  Oswego  county.  He  com- 
menced his  professional  career  under  0.  W.  CHILDS,  Esq., 
in  the  year  1847.  In  1850  and  1851,  he  was  engaged  under 
Mr.  CHILDS  in  making  a  survey  for  a  Ship  Canal  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Nicaragua,  in  Central  America,  and  opening  of 
the  Nicaragua  Transit  Eoute,  for  California  traffic  and  travel, 
under  Commodore  VANDEKBILT. 

Upon  his  return,  he  received  an  appointment  upon  the 
New  York  State  canals,  in  1852,  where,  owing  to  great  dili- 
gence and  application,  he  remained  undisturbed  through  all 
the  political  changes  of  the  next  eight  years,  and  in  1860, 
through  the  earnest  application  and  recommendation  of 
Hon.  VAN  E.  KICHMOND,  the  then  State  Engineer  and 
Surveyor,  was  appointed  by  a  Republican  Canal  Board 
Resident  Engineer  at  Syracuse.  While  holding  this  position, 
he  compiled  and  perfected  a  complete  set  of  plans  of  the 
most  important  canal  structures,  which  were  published  in 
connection  with  the  State  Engineer's  report  for  1860. 

Upon  his  removal,  Mr.  RICHMOND  appointed  him  principal 
assistant,  under  0.  W.  CHILDS,  on  the  "  New  York  Harbor  En- 
croachment Survey. "  By  reason  of  his  skill  and  characteristic 
energy,  Mr.  SWEET  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  estab- 
lish, successfully,  the  original  high  and  low  water  lines 
around  Manhattan  Island  and  the  shores  of  Brooklyn,  from 
which  the  first  map  was  published  in  1861,  showing  these  lines. 

Upon  the  election  of  WILLIAM  B.  TAYLOR  as  State 
Engineer,  in  1862,  he  was  tendered  and  accepted  the  position 
of  Deputy  State  Engineer.  During  his  term  as  Deputy, 
Mr.  SWEET  devoted  his  leisure  hours  to  writing  a  complete 
"  History  of  the  New  York  Canals,"  a  work  embracing  384 


ii>  (5j\/vc^Vo 


IVVIV 


LIFE  SKETCHES.  43 

pages ;  also  a  history  of  the  Hudson  Kiver  Improvements, 
some  thirty  or  forty  pages  in  length,  and  a  scientific  report 
of  great  practical  value  on  coal.  This  last  work,  contained 
in  about  100  pages,  set  forth  the  cost  of  coal  over  diflFerent 
routes  to  market.  It  was  furnished,  upon  call,  to  the  Senate 
during  the  session  of  1864,  and  was  read  with  interest  by 
coal  consumers  generally,  since  it  contained  all  the  informa- 
tion necessary  to  a  full  and  clear  understanding  of  the 
actual  cost  of  the  commodity  treated  of  in  market. 

During  the  war  (1865),  he  was  the  nominee  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  the  same  position  he  now  holds,  and  although 
running  ahead  of  the  ticket  about  4,000,  was  defeated  with 
his  party  when  all  placed  upon  the  ticket  —  made  up  of 
JOHN  VAN  BUKEN,  Gen.  H.  W.  SLOCUM,  Lucius  KOBINSON, 
etc. —  were  vanquished  by  the  war  cry. 

In  1865-6,  Mr.  SWEET  had  charge  of  surveys,  plans  and 
estimates  for  a  canal  across  the  State  of  Maryland,  from 
Washington  to  Annapolis,  thence  along  the  shore  of  Chesa- 
peake to  Baltimore,  thereby  saving  in  distance  between  these 
points  190  miles,  and  the  danger  of  navigating  the  bay  with 
small  crafts,  and  perfecting  an  inland  canal  navigation  from 
Albany  or  New  York  to  Washington,  upon  a  scale  of  navi- 
gation equal  to  the  Delaware  &  Earitan. 

Upon  the  election  of  Hon.  VAN  K.  KICHMOND  for  State 
Engineer  and  Surveyor,  in  1868,  Mr.  SWEET  was  tendered 
and  accepted  the  position  of  Deputy,  which  he  held  during 
the  two  terms  of  Mr.  KICHMOND'S  administration,  serving 
also  as  Engineer  and  Inspector  of  the  New  Capitol,  which 
latter  position  he  retained  after  the  defeat  of  his  party  in 
the  fall  of  1871. 

Mr.  SWEET  received  the  nomination  from  the  Democratic 
party  at  the  convention  held  at  Utica,  in  the  fall  of  1873,  for 
State  Engineer  and  Surveyor,  and  was  likewise  the  choice  of 
the  Liberal  convention  held  at  Elmira  the  same  fall  for  that 
office.  He  was  triumphantly  elected,  his  majority  being 
some  4,000  greater  than  that  of  any  of  his  associates  on  th« 
ticket. 


SENATORS, 


JAMES  W.  BOOTH. 


The  fifth  Senatorial  district  consists  of  the  eighth,  ninth, 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  wards  of  the  city  of  New  York.  It 
is  represented  in  the  present  Senate  by  JAMES  W.  BOOTH 
who  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  ninth  of 
September,  1822.  After  receiving  a  good  education  in 
various  private  schools  in  that  city,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  mercantile  pursuits  with  marked  success.  As  a  dyer 
and  manufacturer  of  cotton  goods  he  was  long  known  to  the 
world  of  trade  no  less  for  his  business  sagacity  than  for  his 
integrity.  At  present  Mr.  BOOTH  is  not  actively  engaged  in 
business,  being  one  of  those  fortunate  mortals  to  whom 
effort  has  brought  the  wherewithal  on  which  to  complacently 
retire  from  the  noisy  marts  of  trade. 

In  politics  Mr.  BOOTH  was  for  many  years  a  Whig,  but 
since  the  formation  of  the  Kepublican  party  he  has  been  an 
ardent  supporter  of  that  organization.  Until  nominated  for 
the  Senate  he  had  never  been  prevailed  upon  to  accept  a 
political  office,  although  for  many  years  he  has  been  devoted, 
with  his  time  and  his  means,  to  the  support  of  honesty  and 
efficiency  in  public  affairs.  In  him  the  cause  of  education 
has  ever  had  a  warm  friend,  and  to  it  he  has  given  a  long 
term  of  service.  From  1850  until  1870  he  was  trustee  of 
the  Common  Schools  of  the  Ninth  ward  of  New  York.  On 
the  organization  of  the  Fire  Department,  under  its  present 
system,  he  was  made  one  of  the  Commissioners,  a  position 
which  he  held  for  three  months  and  then  resigned.  In  1873, 


46  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

when  the  Legislature  was  called  upon  to  name  a  Eegent  of 
the  University  in  place  of  OSWALD  OTTENDORFER,  Mr. 
BOOTH  received  the  unanimous  nomination  of  the  Republi- 
cans and  was  duly  elected.  In  the  election  which  resulted 
in  placing  him  in  his  present  position  of  Senator  he  ran 
against  VIXCENT  C.  KIXG  and  received  a  majority  of  2,437. 
Mr.  BOOTH  is  Chairman  of  the  Committees  on  Literature 
and  Public  Health,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Committees 
on  Cities,  and  Commerce  and  Navigation. 


GEORGE  B.  BRADLEY 


GEORGE  B.  BRADLEY,  who  now  represents  the  Steuben, 
Chemung  and  Schuyler  district,  was  a  candidate  for  the 
position  which  he  now  holds  two  years  ago.  At  that  time 
he  made  a  gallant,  but  an  unsuccessful  fight.  Although  the 
Republican  majority  in  that  district  had  been  counted  by  the 
thousands,  he  was  beaten  by  a  scratch,  his  opponent  being 
chosen  by  a  majority  of  seven. 

Senator  BRADLEY  was  born  in  the  town  of  Greene,  county 
of  Chenango,  on  the  fifth  day  of  February,  1825,  and  conse- 
quently he  is  now  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers.  His 
father,  ORLO  F.  BRADLEY,  now  dead,  came  from  Litchfield 
county,  Connecticut.  The  Senator  spent  the  early  years  of 
his  life  on  a  farm  which  his  father  had  purchased  in  Chenango 
county,  after  leaving  New  England.  Receiving  a  good  com- 
mon school  and  academic  education,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  law,  and  after  pursuing  the  usual  preparatory  studies,  was 
admitted  to  practice.  For  the  last  twenty-five  years  he  has 
occupied  a  prominent  position  at  the  bar  of  this  State,  being 
recognized  in  the  profession  as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of 
the  southern  tier. 

The  Senator  was  married  in  July,  1850,  to  Miss  LATTIMER, 
of  Stenben  county. 


GEORGE  B.  BRADLEY.  47 

He  and  Judge  RUMSEY  of  the  Supreme  Court  were  the 
representatives  of  their  respective  parties  from  the  southern 
counties  of  their  judicial  district  in  the  late  Constitutional 
Commission.  The  Judge  resigned  when  appointed  to  fill  a 
vacancy,  but  Mr.  BRADLEY  served,  and  no  man  in  the  Com- 
mission made  a  more  favorable  impression  upon  all  those 
amiliar  with  the  work  of  that  body. 

Mr.  BEADLEY  was  placed  in  nomination  by  the  Democrats 
and  Liberal  Republicans.  It  was  a  significant  fact  that  his 
Republican  opponent  of  two  years  ago,  Hon.  GABRIEL  T. 
HARROWER,  was  one  of  his  most  ardent  supporters  through- 
out the  canvass.  He  was  triumphantly  elected,  carrying  every 
county  in  the  district,  by  a  majority  of  2,859  over  EATON"  N. 
FRISBIE. 

Mr.  BRADLEY  is  an  easy,  effective  speaker,  and  takes  a 
prominent  part  in  all  the  debates  of  moment.  He  signalized 
his  entrance  into  the  Senate  by  his  minority  report  from  the 
Committee  on  Privileges  and  Elections,  on  the  ABBOTT-MAD- 
DEN contested  election  case.  He  favored  the  retention  of  AB- 
BOTT as  sitting-member  until  all  the  evidence  in  the  case  had 
been  offered  and  reported  on  by  the  committee.  His  speech  in 
support  of  his  report  was  the  most  able  and  eloquent  presen- 
tation of  Mr.  ABBOTT'S  claims  that  was  addressed  to  the 
Senate. 

Mr.  BRADLEY  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Judiciary, 
State  Prisons,  and  Privileges  and  Elections. 


48  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JOHN  W.  COE. 


The  Second  Senatorial  district  of  the  State  of  New  York 
consists  of  the  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  seventh, 
eleventh,  thirteenth,  fifteenth,  nineteenth  and  twentieth 
wards  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  The  Senator  is  JOHN"  W. 
COE. 

JOHN  "W".  COE  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the 
26th  of  May,  1839.  He  received  a  good  common  school 
education,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pur- 
suits. At  the  present  time  he  is  engaged  in  business  as  a 
manufacturer.  He  was  married  in  1862. 

The  Senator  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  politics, 
and  has  held  some  prominent  public  positions.  He  was  for 
many  years  an  active  Eepublican,  and,  in  1872,  embraced  the 
Cincinnati  movement,  so  called.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
convention  that  laid  down  the  Liberal  platform  and  nom- 
inated HORACE  GKEELEY  for  the  Presidency.  In  his  own 
county  of  Kings,  he  has  long  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of  polit- 
ical prosperity.  In  1870  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  and  proved  such  a  popular  representa- 
tive, that,  in  1872,  the  Liberal  Eepublicans  returned  him  to 
the  Board  from  a  strong  Eepublican  district.  His  second 
term  as  Supervisor  was  signalized  by  a  most  stubborn  con- 
test for  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Board.  After  a  campaign, 
lasting  five  months,  Mr.  COE  was  elected  to  that  office. 

In  the  fall  of  1873,  the  Liberal  Eepublicans  placed  him  in 
nomination  for  Senator.  The  action  of  the  convention  was 
indorsed  by  the  Democracy,  and  the  result  was  his  election 
over  Hon.  JOHN  0.  PERRY,  who  was  chosen  to  the  last  Senate 
by  a  majority  of  1,968.  Mr.  COE'S  majority  was  1,414. 

Mr.  COE'S  political  position  in  the  Senate  is  a  peculiarly 


DAN  H.  COLE.  49 

"independent"  one.  He  was  first  nominated,  as  we  have 
said,  by  a  distinctively  Liberal  Eepublican  convention,  and 
afterward  was  indorsed  by  the  Democrats.  He  made  no 
pledges  whatever  to  the  latter,  and,  in  refusing  to  do  so,  told 
them  that  they  had  simply  to  choose  between  him  and  his 
Eepublican  opponent.  As  a  consequence,  party  ties  sit  very 
loosely  upon  him,  and  he  is  left  free  to  follow  the  promptings 
of  an  unbiased  judgment  in  considering  all  questions  brought 
before  the  Senate.  He  came  to  the  Legislature  with  the 
reputation  of  having  materially  assisted  in  unearthing  the 
labyrinth  of  frauds  in  the  jail  of  Kings  county,  through 
which  the  public  were  swindled  out  of  thousands  of  dollars 
annually.  He  signalized  his  entrance  into  the  Senate  by 
casting  his  vote  in  favor  of  awarding  the  contested  seat  of  the 
tenth  district  to  Mr.  MADDEN".  His  speech,  in  explanation 
of  his  action,  proved  him  to  be  a  clear  and  cogent  speaker. 

Senator  COE  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Cities  and 
Public  Health. 


DAN  H.  COLE. 


The  Twenty-ninth  Senatorial  district  of  the  State  of  New 
York  consists  of  the  counties  of  Genesee,  Niagara  and 
Orleans.  The  Senator  is  DAN  H.  COLE,  of  Albion,  Orleans 
county. 

Senator  COLE  was  born  at  Auburn,  Cayuga  county,  in  the 
year  1814.  He  is  descended  from  New  England  stock,  both 
of  his  parents  being  natives  of  Sharon,  Conn.,  where  his 
father  followed  the  profession  of  medicine  for  many  years. 
After  receiving  a  good  substantial  education  in  the  common 
school  and  academy,  he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  law. 
He  was  for  some  time  a  student  in  the  office  of  his  brother, 
Hon.  A.  HYDE  COLE,  who,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  occupied 
a  seat  in  the  Senate  in  1848-9.  After  being  admitted  to  the 
bar.  the  Senator  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession 


60  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

at  Albion.  Since  1850,  other  duties  occupying  his  attention, 
he  has  not  been  actively  engaged  at  the  law.  Of  late  years 
he  has  been  prominently  engaged  in  several  important 
business  enterprises,  among  others  with  the  Curtis  Agricul- 
tural Works,  of  which  he  is  President. 

The  Senator  has  had  considerable  experience  of  a  varied 
nature  in  public  life.  In  1840  he  was  appointed  by  Gov. 
Seward  Surrogate  of  his  county,  and  held  the  office  four  years. 
In  the  fall  of  1846,  he  was  elected  to  the  responsible  and 
honorable  position  of  County  Clerk,  and  remained  as  such 
two  terms,  six  years.  In  1855,  on  the  death  of  Judge  H.  R. 
CURTIS,  he  was  appointed  County  Judge  and  Surrogate,  and 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was  nominated  and  elected  a 
member  of  Assembly  from  Orleans  county.  As  a  member 
of  the  lower  House  of  1856,  he  participated  in  the  long  and 
exciting  contest  for  Speaker,  which  ended,  on  the  forty-ninth 
ballot,  in  the  election  of  OEVILLB  ROBINSON.  In  all  these 
positions,  Mr.  COLE  served  the  people  to  their  entire  satisfac- 
tion, and  established  an  enviable  reputation  for  capacity  and 
integrity. 

The  Senator  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  a  member 
of  the  Senate.  He  was  first  elected  to  that  body  in  1863, 
and,  during  1864-65,  held  the  same  important  Chairmanship 
which  he  now  holds,  of  Canals.  He  was  also  Chairman  of 
the  Canal  Committee  when  in  the  Assembly,  and  thus  brings 
to  bear  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  during  the  present 
session  a  perfect  familiarity  with  the  duties  of  his  responsible 
position.  He  has  also  figured  prominently,  this  session,  as 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Privileges  and  Elections. 
There  being  no  less  than  three  contested  election  cases  in  the 
present  Senate,  that  committee  has  its  hands  full.  Senator 
COLE  presented  the  majority  report  in  the  ABBOTT-MADDEN 
case,  which  excited  so  much  interest  all  over  the  State,  and 
which  the  Senate,  after  an  exciting  debate,  adopted. 

Senator  COLE  was  married,  in  1836,  to  FEANCES  M. 
ELLIOTT. 


HENRY  C.  CONNELLY.  51 


HENRY  C.   CONNELLY. 


The  Fourteenth  Senatorial  district  consists  of  the  counties 
of  Greene  and  Ulster.  The  Senator  is  HENRY  0.  CON- 
NELLY. 

Senator  CONNELLY  was  born  at  Shandaken,  Ulster  county, 
on  the  25th  of  September,  1832,  consequently  he  is  now  in 
the  full  maturity  of  his  powers.  Shortly  after  his  birth  the 
family  removed  to  Esopus,  in  the  same  county,  which  has 
remained  the  Senator's  home  ever  since.  His  father  and  his 
father's  father  were  both  born  in  the  town  of  Olive,  Ulster 
county.  His  grandfather  was  a  physician  and  Baptist  min- 
ister, and  his  father  a  farmer.  The  latter  is  still  living  at  the 
age  of  66. 

The  Senator's  education  was  received,  for  the  most  part,  at 
the  common  schools  of  his  county.  A  portion  of  one  year 
he  attended  the  Charlotteville  Seminary  at  Schoharie.  At 
the  early  age  of  15  he  began  to  learn  the  great  lesson  of  self- 
dependence,  and  we  find  him  teaching  the  young  ideas  to 
shoot.  He  followed  teaching  for  three  months,  and  then 
went  to  clerking  it  at  Kondout.  Here  he  remained  four 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Eddyville,  Ulster  county,  where 
he  spent  some  time  in  mercantile  pursuits.  *  In  1856  he 
embarked  in  business  on  his  own  account,  and  to-day  finds 
him  in  the  same  place  in  which  he  commenced,  a  successful 
and  respected  merchant.  The  firm  of  CONNELLY  &  SHAFER 
is  widely  known  as  manufacturers  of  Rosendale  cement. 

In  politics,  the  Senator,  although  brought  up  under  Free 
Soil  Democrat  influences,  has  always  been  a  Republican. 
For  four  successive  years  his  friends  and  neighbors  showed 
their  regard  for  him  as  a  man  of  capacity  and  integrity  by 
electing  him  to  represent  his  town  in  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors of  Ulster  county.  He  cares  very  little  for  public  life, 


52  LIKE  SKETCHES. 

and  never  asked  for  an  office  in  his  life.  Whenever  he  hag 
consented  to  represent  the  people  the  office  has  sought  him, 
not  he  the  office. 

Thoroughly  known  throughout  the  Fourteenth  district, 
and  everywhere,  as  a  man  fitted,  by  his  sound  business  capa- 
city and  inflexible  integrity,  to  make  a  useful  legislator,  it 
was  not  strange  that  his  party  friends  placed  him  in  nomina- 
tion for  Senator.  The  district  had  been  counted  unfailingly 
Democratic,  and  yet,  although  Greene  county  went  against 
Mr.  CONNELLY  543,  his  own  county  of  Ulster  gave  him  the 
handsome  majority  of  809,  thus  securing  his  election  by  266 
over  JACOB  H.  MEECH.  In  1871  a  Democratic  Senator  was 
elected  by  828  majority. 

Senator  CONNELLY  is  Chairman  of  two  Committees,  Erec- 
tion and  Division  of  Towns  and  Counties  and  Charitable 
and  Religious  Societies ;  he  is  also  a  member  of  Roads  and 
Bridges  and  Printing. 

The  Senator  has  been  twice  married.  He  was  married  to 
his  present  wife,  a  daughter  of  LEVI  MANNING,  of  "West 
Park,  Ulster  county,  in  1858.  He  has  been  connected  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  since  1852. 


JESSE  C.  DAYTON. 


JESSE  C.  DAYTON,  of  Watervliet,  represents  the  Thirteenth 
Senatorial  district,  which  consists  of  the  county  of  Albany. 

The  Senator's  ancestors  were  English,  and  as  far  back  as 
1600,  certain  of  them  emigrated  from  England  and  settled 
near  what  is  now  East  Hampton,  Long  Island,  where  his 
father  was  born.  His  grandfather  removed  to  Rensselaer- 
ville  in  1800. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Westerlo,  Albany 
county,  in  the  year  1825.  His  life  has  been  spent  in  Westerlo, 


JESSE  C.  DAYTON.  53 

Knowersville,  Watervliet  and  New  York  city.  After  receiving 
»  good  substantial  education,  he  turned  his  attention  to  mer- 
cantile pursuits,  and  in  1844,  being  then  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  went  to  New  York  as  a  clerk.  Developing  good  busi- 
ness qualities,  it  was  not  long  before  he  passed  from  the 
position  of  clerk  to  the  head  of  a  nourishing  house  of  his  own. 
He  is  still  actively  engaged  in  business  in  the  metropolis,  but 
has  his  home  away  from  its  rush  and  roar  in  tranquil  Water- 
vliet, where  he  has  an  extensive  farm. 

The  Senator  takes  a  lively  interest  in  politics,  and  has 
always  been  identified  with  the  Democratic  party.  Last 
spring  his  friends  and  neighbors  brought  him  forward  as  a 
candidate  for  Supervisor.  He  accepted  the  nomination  and 
was  elected  by  a  majority  of  five  hundred,  in  a  town  which 
had  been  previously  carried  by  the  Republicans.  In  com- 
menting upon  his  nomination  for  Senator,  the  Albany  Argu* 
bore  witness  to  the  faithfulness  and  vigilance  with  which  he 
had  represented  his  constituents  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors. 
It  added,  "  taking  his  election  for  granted,  he  will  be  a  credit 
to  Albany  upon  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  and  a  valuable  servant 
in  committees  and  all  routine  legislation.  And  his  character 
is  as  exemplary  as  his  qualifications  for  the  position  of 
Senator  are  superior." 

The  Troy  Press,  a  newspaper  published  outside  of  the  Four- 
teenth district,  noticed  the  nomination  of  Mr.  DAYTON  for 
Senator,  as  follows  :  "  The  Democracy  of  Albany  county  have 
nominated  JESSE  C.  DAYTON,  of  Watervliet,  for  Senator.  Mr. 
DAYTON"  is  not  an  office-seeker,  nor  is  he  a  man  that  office  can 
corrupt.  He  last  spring  accepted  the  nomination  for  Super- 
visor in  a  Radical  district,  and  illustrated  his  popularity  by 
carrying  his  election  with  nearly  five  hundred  majority.  In 
the  Board  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  vigilant  members, 
watching  the  interests  of  the  people  with  constant  care. 
Being  a  man  of  wealth,  he  has  personal  interests  that  are 
opposed  to  extravagant  legislation,  and  that  is  one  of  the 
strongest  guards  that  can  be  put  upon  a  legislator.  As  there 


54  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

is  no  doubt  of  Mr.  DAYTON'S  election,  we  congratulate  onr 
Bister  county  upon  the  wise  action  of  its  convention." 

Mr.  DAYTON  was  nominated  for  the  honorable  position 
which  he  now  holds  by  acclamation,  and  elicited  a  hearty 
support.  He  was  elected  over  CHARLES  P.  EASTON,  Repub- 
lican, by  a  majority  of  2,152.  In  1871,  CHARLES  H.  ADAMS, 
Eepublican,  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  656,  leading  the 
State  ticket  by  1,911. 

Mr.  DAYTON  was  assigned,  by  the  President  of  the  Senate, 
to  the  following  committees  :  Printing,  Public  Buildings, 
and  Indian  Affairs.  He  is  a  man  of  quiet  manner  and  modest 
bearing.  v  Although  not  a  talking  member,  as  a  general  rule, 
he  is  always  ready  to  take  the  floor  when  the  success  of  any 
measures  which  he  has  in  charge  seems  to  require  it. 


WELLS  S.  DICKINSON. 


The  seventeenth  Senatorial  district,  comprising  the  counties 
of  Franklin  and  St.  Lawrence,  is  represented  by  WELLS  S. 
DICKINSON,  of  Franklin.  He  comes  from  a  section  of  the 
Empire  State  which  has  always  been  in  the  van  of  liberal 
and  progressive  ideas,  a  section  proud  of  its  PRESTON  KING, 
its  SILAS  WRIGHT,  and  which  has  produced  many  sons  who 
have  been  potent  in  shaping  the  policy  of  State  and  nation. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Bangor,  Franklin 
county,  where  he  still  resides,  in  the  year  1827,  and  is  of  gen- 
uine American  descent.  After  receiving  the  rudiments  of 
his  education  at  a  common  school,  he  entered  the  Franklin 
academy  in  his  native  county,  where  he  remained  two  years. 
He  then,  in  the  year  1846,  laid  aside  his  books,  and  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits  with  his  father,  whom  he  joined  as 
partner  in  1850.  In  1851  he  took  to  himself  a  wife,  marry- 
ing Miss  THUSA  FISH.  In  1853  he  bought  out  his  father's 


WELLS  8.  DICKINSON.  55 

interest  in  the  business  and  associated  Mr.  A.  0.  PATTERSON 
with  himself.  The  copartnership  thus  formed  continued 
until  the  year  1865,  when  he  also  admitted  Mr.  CHARLES 
WHITNEY  into  the  firm,  and  carried  on  business  under  the 
name  of  PATTERSON,  WHITNEY  &  Co.  In  1857,  Mr.  WHIT- 
NEY went  out  of  the  concern  and  Mr.  DICKINSON'S  brother 
took  his  place.  During  all  this  time,  however,  Mr.  DICKIN- 
SON had  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  his  private  and  individual 
business,  the  manufacture  of  potato  starch  and  speculation 
in  starch,  hops,  etc.  In  addition  to  the  pursuits  thus 
indicated,  Mr.  DICKINSON  ran  for  some  years  extensive 
grist  and  saw  mills,  of  which  he  was  the  owner,  and  had 
business  interests  at  Bed  Wing,  Minnesota,  as  member  of 
the  firm  of  SMITH,  MEIGS  &  Co. 

Thus  much  for  the  Senator's  business  history,  and  now  a 
glance  at  his  public  and  political  life.  In  politics  he  was 
formerly  a  Whig,  but  he  now  is  and  has  been  for  years  an 
active  and  ardent  Eepublican.  His  personal  popularity  at 
home  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  for  three  successive  years, 
1857-8-9,  he  was  elected  Supervisor  of  his  native  town.  In 
1859  the  Legislature  of  New  York  appointed  him  one  of  the 
Commissioners  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  settlement  of  the 
claim  and  damages  arising  on  the  contract  between  the 
State  and  J.  D.  KINGSLAND  relative  to  convict  labor. 

Senator  DICKINSON  began  his  legislative  career  some 
years  ago.  In  1860  he  represented  the  county  of  Franklin 
in  the  Assembly  in  a  manner  at  once  creditable  to  himself 
and  satisfactory  to  his  constituents.  He  was  a  member  of 
one  of  the  most  important  committees  in  the  House,  that  on 
Eailroads.  In  1864  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  memorable  Ee- 
publican National  Convention  which  met  at  Baltimore  and 
renominated  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  for  the  Presidency. 

Senator  DICKINSON  has  already  had  one  term's  experience 
in  the  Senate.  In  the  fall  of  1871  he  was  first  nominated 
for  the  office,  going  into  the  convention  as  the  unanimous 
choice  of  Franklin  county,  and  proving  entirely  acceptable 


56  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

to  the  St.  Lawrence  delegates.  Two  years  previous,  when 
his  name  had  been  presented  by  his  county,  the  convention 
paid  him  the  marked  compliment  of  passing  a  resolution 
recognizing  him  as  "an  upright  and  patriotic  citizen,  a 
reliable  and  active  Eepublican,  and  one  whom  the  people  of 
the  seventeenth  district  hold  in  high  respect."  He  entered 
actively  into  the  campaign  and  was  elected  by  the  handsome 
majority  of  6,925.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Villages  and  Indian  affairs,  and  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittees on  Claims,  Eoads  and  Bridges  and  State  Prisons. 

Mr.  DICKINSON  made  so  good  a  record  in  1872  and  1873 
that  the  electors  of  the  seventeenth  district  decided  that  he 
well  deserved  to  be  returned.  The  New  York  Times,  in  an 
editorial  article  on  the  senatorial  nominations  of  last  fall, 
commended  Senator  DICKINSON"  as  a  gentleman  who  had 
had  much  experience  in  public  affairs  and  who  enjoyed  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  the  Republicans  among  whom  he 
lived.  He  was  re-elected  by  the  comfortable  majority  of  4,626 
over  his  Democratic  competitor. 

As  a  politician  Mr.  DICKINSON  has  an  honorable  reputa- 
tion and  his  course  since  he  has  been  Senator  has  been  such 
as  to  entitle  him  to  thorough  confidence  and  respect  reposed 
in  him  by  his  constituents.  He  is  chairman  of  two  import- 
ant Committees  in  the  present  Senate,  Claims  and  Villages, 
and  is  a  member  of  Affairs  of  Cities  and  State  Prisons. 


ALBERT  G.  Dow.  57 


ALBERT  G.  DOW. 


The  Thirty-second  Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the 
counties  of  Cattaraugus  and  Chautauqua,  is  represented  by 
ALBERT  G.  Dow,  of  Eandolph,  Cattaraugus  county. 

The  salient  facts  of  his  history  are  as  follows :  ALBERT  G. 
Dow  was  born  in  Plainfield,  Cheshire  county,  New  Hamp- 
shire, on  the  16th  of  August,  1808.  His  father,  SOLOMON 
Dow,  who  was  also  a  native  of  "  the  Granite  State,"  followed 
farming  for  a  living.  The  Senator  received  his  education  in 
the  "  common  "  and  "  select "  schools,  so  called,  of  Vermont 
and  western  New  York,  and  after  leaving  his  books,  turned 
his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits.  During  many  years 
lie  was  engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  and  he  was 
rewarded  with  a  fair  degree  of  success ;  of  late  he  has  fol- 
lowed the  business  of  banking.  It  may  be  added,  just  here, 
that  he  has  been  twice  married,  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church  for  over  thirty  years. 

The  Senator's  political  history  repeats  that  of  a  great 
many  of  his  contemporaries.  Until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
late  war  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  since  that  time  has  acted 
with  the  Eepublican  party.  He  has  had  considerable  experi- 
ence in  public  life,  and  evidently  is  held  in  high  regard  by 
those  who  know  him  best.  For  ten  years  he  represented  the 
town  of  Randolph  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Cattarau- 
gus county,  a  fact  that  speaks  emphatically  of  his  capacity 
for  affairs  and  his  reputation  for  integrity.  In  the  fall  of 
1862  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  from  the  Second  district 
of  Cattaraugus  county  as  a  Union  Democrat,  by  a  majority 
of  971  over  LEMUEL  S.  JENKS.  He  made  such  a  satisfactory 
record  that  he  was  returned  the  next  year.  When  we  have 
added  that  the  Senator  filled  the  office  of  Justice  of  the 

Peace  for  twelve  vears.  and  was.  from  1857  to  1863,  a  Com- 

8  * 


58  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

missioner  of  Excise,  it  will  be  seen  that  his  experience  of 
public  service  has  been  long  and  varied. 

The  Senator  was  elected  to  his  present  position  by  a 
majority  of  2,458  over  DAVID  N.  BROWN,  who  ran  on  the 
Democratic  ticket.  He  is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Grievances ;  also  of  that  on  Indian  Affairs ;  and  is  a  member 
of  the  committees  on  Public  Health  and  Manufactures. 

Senator  Dow  is  a  careful  and  sound  legislator,  always 
keenly  alive  to  the  material  and  moral  advancement  of  his 
own  locality  in  particular,  and  of  the  State  in  general. 
Making  no  pretensions  to  oratory,  he  nevertheless  has  the 
faculty  of  presenting  his  views  clearly  and  forcibly.  During 
the  present  session  his  speech  in  favor  of  the  appropriation 
to  academies  was  an  able  and  well-considered  effort.  The 
Senator  held  that  it  would  be  in  accordance  with  the  dic- 
tates of  sound  policy  for  the  State  to  distribute  $125,000 
among  the  academies  of  the  State,  and  supported  his  posi- 
tion with  quite  an  array  of  facts  and  figures.  Whether  or 
no  he  is  right  or  wrong  is  an  open  question,  but  he  made  one 
thing  certain  beyond  a  cavil  —  his  interest  in  the  educational 
interests  of  the  State. 


JOHN  FOX. 


The  seat  of  the  Fourth  Senatorial  district,  which  remained 
vacant  during  the  whole  of  last  term  by  reason  of  the  non- 
appearance  of  the  Senator  elect,  WILLIAM  M.  TWEED,  is 
occupied  this  session  by  JOHN  Fox.  The  district  includes 
the  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  seventh,  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  wards  of  New  York. 

Senator  JOHN  Fox  was  born  at  Frederickton,  New  Bruns- 
wick. His  father,  PATRICK  Fox,  and  his  mother,  CATHARINE 
AHERN,  were  both  natives  of  Ireland.  The  Senator  received 


JOHN  Fox.  59 

a  common  school  education,  attending  school  number  twenty- 
nine,  New  York  city.  After  throwing  aside  his  books  he 
commenced,  while  yet  a  mere  boy,  the  great  battle  of  life, 
and  the  development  of  those  qualities  of  self-reliance  and 
energy  of  character  which  have  since  marked  his  career. 

Until  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age  he  was  a  block  and 
pump  maker.  After  that,  thinking  that  he  knew  how  to 
keep  a  hotel,  he  tried  that  line  of  business  for  two  years. 
Since  abandoning  hotel  keeping  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  and  brokerage  business. 

JOHN  Fox  is  a  name  that  has  long  been  familiar  in  the 
ears  of  those  at  all  acquainted  with  politics  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  Few  men  of  his  years  have  been  as  long  in  pub- 
lic life,  in  various  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  as  the  Senator. 
Always  an  uncompromising  Democrat,  he  has  been  frequently 
called  by  his  political  friends  to  represent  them.  In  1861  he 
was  elected  Alderman,  defeating  one  of  the  most  popular  men 
in  New  York,  the  late  widely  lamented  .HENRY  SMITH, 
Police  Commissioner,  by  a  majority  of  800.  Tn  1864  he 
was  chosen  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  New  York 
county  by  the  overwhelming  majority  of  17,000.  In  1866  he 
defeated  HORACE  GREELEY  for  Congress,  and  in  1868  was 
re-elected  over  General  LEWIS  by  a  majority  of  over  16,000. 
In  Congress  he  served  on  the  committees  on  Post-offices, 
Post  Eoads  and  Invalid  Pensions.  The  Senator's  position  in 
the  State  councils  of  his  party  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  in 
1873  he  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee.  He  has  long  been 
a  regular  attendant  at  the  State  and  National  Conventions 
of  the  Democracy.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Con- 
ventions of  1868  and  1872,  and  has  been  present  in  similar 
capacity  at  every  State  Convention  held  during  the  past  ten 
years,  saving  only  the  year  1871,  when  the  TWEED  ring 
defeated  him  and  put  in  his  place  a  man  of  their  own. 

The  Senator  was  married  in  1861,  in  New  York  city,  to 
Miss  ELLEN  BYRNE.  He  attends  the  Catholic  church. 


60  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

In  the  canvass  which  resulted  in  placing  him  in  the  seat 
which  he  now  occupies  he  was  opposed  by  MORGAN  JONES, 
and  defeated  him  by  a  majority  of  6,063.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Cities,  Erection  and  Division  of  Towns 
and  Counties,  and  Rules. 


JACOB  A.  GROSS. 


The  Sixth  Senatorial  district  of  the  State  of  New  York 
consists  of  the  tenth,  eleventh  and  seventeenth  wards  of  the 
city  of  New  York.  The  Senator  is  JACOB  A.  GROSS. 

Senator  GROSS  is  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the 
present  Senate,  having  been  born  in  1842.  He  is  a  New 
Yorker,  and  the  son  of  MARTIN  GROSS,  deceased.  After 
receiving  his  preliminary  education  in  the  private  schools  of 
the  metropolis,  he  devoted  some  time  to  the  study  of  law  at 
the  well-known  Columbia  College  Law  School.  He  gradu- 
ated in  1864  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.,  and  the  next  year 
was  made  LL.  M.,  by  the  same  college.  He  has  devoted 
himself  ever  since  to  law  as  his  profession,  and  has  been 
rewarded  with  a  fair  degree  of  success. 

In  politics  the  Senator  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  but 
never  a  member  of  Tammany  Hall  until  its  re-organization 
a  few  years  ago.  He  is  now  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Tammany  General  Committee. 

The  Senator  was  elected  to  the  position  which  he  now 
occupies  by  a  majority  of  3,312"votes  over  GEORGE  HENCKEN, 
Jr.,  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  party.  In  1871  there 
was  a  Democratic  plurality  in  the  district  of  2,425. 


JACOB  A.  GROSS.  61 

Senator  GEOSS  is  an  easy  and  fluent  debater,  and  takes  an 
active  part  in  the  discussions  arising  on  the  important 
measures  presented  for  the  consideration  of  the  Senate.  As 
a  legislator,  he  may  be  denominated  cautious,  deliberate  and 
conscientious.  He  speaks  often,  but  seldom  at  any  length,  and 
always  with  clearness  and  earnestness.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Banks,  the  Committee  on  Charitable  and 
Religious  Societies,  and  the  Committee  on  Villages. 

Senator  GEOSS  is  unmarried,  and  attends  the  Catholic 
church. 


JOHN  C.  JACOBS. 


The  Senator  from  the  third  district  of  Kings  county, 
having  served  in  the  lower  House  during  the  years  1867, 
'68,  '69,  '70,  '71,  '72  and  '73,  was  abundantly  qualified,  by 
legislative  experience  and  knowledge,  to  respond  to  the  call 
which  came  to  him  last  fall  from  his  constituents,  "  Friend, 
come  up  higher."  A  leader  in  the  Assembly  for  seven  years, 
it  was  to  be  expected,  on  the  retirement  of  Hon.  HENEY  C. 
MUEPHT  from  the  seat  which  he  had  filled  so  ably  for  twelve 
successive  years,  that  he  would  be  given  the  succession.  Mr. 
JACOBS  was  elected  to  the  Senate  by  a  majority  of  3,984 
over  JOHN  F.  HENEY. 

The  salient  points  in  his  history  may  be  stated  as  follows: 
He  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  10th 
of  December,  1838,  and  is  therefore  now  in  the  thirty-fifth 
year  of  his  age.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  of  the  old  New 
England  Revolutionary  stock,  and  several  of  them  partici- 
pated with  honor  in  the  memorable  struggle  for  independ- 
ence. Mr.  JACOBS'  mother  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  of  German  origin,  one  of  her  progenitors  having  held  a 
high  position  under  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia. 

"When  Mr.  JACOBS  was  quite  young  his  parents  removed  to 


62  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Brooklyn,  where  he  was  placed  in  a  select  school  as  soon  as  he 
had  reached  a  sufficient  age.  The  family  removed  to  Phila- 
delphia a  few  years  later,  and  his  school  studies  may  be  said 
to  have  closed  when  he  attained  the  age  of  twelve.  He  was, 
nevertheless,  able  to  turn  every  opportunity  of  obtaining 
knowledge  to  account,  and  the  loss  occasioned  by  the  check 
thus  given  to  his  educational  progress,  is  not  as  apparent  as 
it  might  be  in  a  duller  man.  Eeturning  to  Brooklyn,  after 
a  year's  stay  in  Philadelphia,  he  entered  a  lawyer's  office  as  a 
messenger  boy.  The  drudgery  there  required  of  him  was, 
however,  very  repugnant  to  his  somewhat  high-strung  nature, 
and  he  left  it  after  a  short  experience,  and  sought  and 
obtained  a  position  as  copy-holder  in  the  large  printing 
establishment  of  JOHN  A.  GRAY  &  Co.,  New  York.  A 
large  number  of  journals  being  issued  from  the  establish- 
ment, Mr.  JACOBS  naturally  came  in  contact  with  many 
newspaper  men,  and  he  soon  developed  a  taste  for  journal- 
istic life.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  became  a  reporter  for  the 
New  York  Express.  He  showed  great  aptitude  and  ability 
in  the  arduous  duties  belonging  to  the  life  he  had  now 
entered,  and  was  gradually  promoted  on  the  Express  staff, 
until  he  was  given  charge  of  the  political  news  columns.  In 
1859  he  became  correspondent  of  the  same  paper  at  Albany, 
remaining  with  it  until  1865,  when,  in  the  same  capacity,  he 
represented  the  New  YorK  World.  He  also  won  distinction 
as  a  war  correspondent,  volunteering  in  1862  to  accompany 
MCCLELLAN'S  army  to  the  Peninsula.  Becoming  attached 
to  the  1st  New  York  Volunteers,  then  in  KEARNEY'S 
division,  he  had  a  chance  to  see  and  participate  in  some  of 
the  hardest  fighting  of  the  war.  His  account  of  the  evacua- 
tion of  Harrison's  Landing  and  the  march  to  Yorktown, 
which  he  sent  to  the  Express,  was  extensively  copied  by  the 
press  of  the  country. 

Mr.  JACOBS  began  his  political  life  when  a  mere  boy.  In 
1856,  when  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  was  active  in  his 
opposition  to  FREMONT'S  election.  In  1860  he  was  well  known 


JOHN  C.  JACOBS.  63 

in  Brooklyn  as  a  leader  among  the  young  men  who  com- 
bined against  the  LINCOLN"  ticket.  In  1863  he  received  the 
regular  Democratic  nomination  for  Assembly,  against  JOHN" 
C.  PERRY,  Eepublican  member  of  the  last  Senate.  THE- 
OPHILUS  C.  CALLICOTT  ran  as  an  Independent  Democratic 
candidate,  however,  and  the  split  thereby  occasioned  defeated 
him.  In  1865  he  also  ran,  being  again  defeated  by  WILLIAM 
W.  GOODRICH,  after  an  unusually  spirited  contest.  Mr. 
JACOBS'  friends  insisted  that  he  should  run  again  in  1866, 
and  the  Democratic  Convention  nominated  him  by  acclama- 
tion. A  strong  effort  was  made  by  the  Eepublican s  to  defeat 
him,  but  the  plucky  young  journalist  was  successful  this 
time  by  900  majority.  From  that  time  until  his  elevation  to 
the  Senate^  he  was  regularly  returned  every  fall  to  the 
Assembly,  his  majority  being  usually  larger  than  the  State 
ticket  received. 

In  1869  he  served  on  the  Committee  on  Commerce  and 
Navigation,  and  on  several  special  committees.  In  1870  he 
was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  and  a 
member  of  the  Committees  on  Insurance,  and  Grievances. 
In  1871  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Grievances, 
Judiciary,  and  Ways  and  Means,  and  Chairman  of  the  latter. 
In  1872  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means,  and  Petitions  of  Aliens ;  and  in  the  last  House  he 
vas  a  member  of  Ways  and  Means,  Insurance,  and  Eules. 
During  the  session  of  1872  Mr.  JACOBS  was  honored  by  being 
chosen  as  one  of  the  managers  to  conduct  the  trials  of  Judges 
BARNARD  and  McCinor.  In  the  years  when  the  Democrats 
held  the  majority  in  the  House,  Mr.  JACOBS  displayed  great 
effectiveness  as  a  leader  and  party  manager,  winning  deserved 
repute  for  his  readiness  and  ability  in  debate,  his  tireless 
activity  and  his  dauntless  courage  in  battling  for  political 
principles.  Two  or  three  times  he  has  been  a  candidate  for 
the  Speakership,  but  in  the  year  when  the  party  majority  was 
with  him,  the  Tammany  interest  of  !STew  York  city,  with 
which  he  was  not  always  in  entire  accord,  succeeded  in 


64  ,  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

defeating  him.  He  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic 
minority  for  the  position  in  the  session  of  1872,  and  also  in 
the  last  one,  receiving  the  entire  vote  of  his  party.  Inas- 
much as  he  possesses  peculiar  qualifications  for  the  post  of 
presiding  officer,  and  is  thoroughly  versed  in  parliamentary 
law,  the  compliment  thus  twice  given  him  was  in  every  way 
deserved. 

Mr.  JACOBS  is  a  great  favorite  among  all  his  friends. 
Though  he  is  an  ardent  and  active  partisan,  there  is  yet  a 
courteousness  of  manner  and  a  frankness  of  language  in  all 
his  political  endeavors,  which  invariably  extorts  admiration 
'  and  respect  from  his  most  decided  opponents.  He  is  a  man 
of  large  heart  and  warm  sympathies  to  his  friends,  and  gen- 
erous to  his  foes,  very  few  of  the  latter  being  such  in  other 
than  a  political  sense.  In  legislative  matters  he  devotes  the 
largest  share  of  his  attention  to  local  affairs ;  but  his  ring- 
ing voice  is  often  heard,  also,  in  defense  of  party  policy,  and 
in  denunciation  of  Republican  measures  and  schemes.  He 
is  very  fluent  in  debate,  occasionally  rising  to  heights  of  ora- 
torical eloquence ;  and  he  never  fails  to  command  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Senate  when  once  warmed  up  with  his  subject. 
He  unquestionably  stands  among  the  foremost  members  of  a 
minority  which  includes  a  number  of  very  able  men. 

The  Senator  is  a  member  of  the  important  Committees  on 
Finance,  and  Affairs  of  Cities. 


WILLIAM  JOHNSON.  65 


WILLIAM  JOHNSON. 


Senator  JOHNSON  probably  does  more  than  any  other  man 
in  the  Senate  to  promote  a  general  good  feeling  all  around 
the  circle.  Jolly  himself,  he  is  the  cause  of  jollity  in  others. 
He  has  a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  and  frequently  chooses 
to  place  an  adversary  hors  du  combat  by  a  racy  repartee, 
rather  than  force  his  surrender  by  the  slow  processes  of  logi- 
cal reasoning.  He  rarely  allows  a  subject  to  be  disposed  of 
without  putting  his  mark  upon  it,  and 

" is  so  full  of  pleasing  anecdote, 

So  rich,  so  gay,  so  poignant  in  his  wit, 
Time  vanishes  before  him  as  he  speaks." 

Urbane  and  pleasant  in  his  address,  and  carrying  around 
with  him  "the  atmosphere  of  gay,  good  cheer,"  he  is  a  very 
popular  gentleman.  A  natural  talker,  fluent  and  ready  on  a 
great  variety  of  subjects,  he  is  one  of  the  marked  men  of  the 
Senate. 

Senator  JOHNSON  represents  the  Twenty-sixth  district, 
including  within  its  territory  the  counties  of  Ontario,  Seneca 
and  Yates.  He  is  a  native  of  the  good  old  Bay  State,  and 
is  now  not  far  from  50  years  of  age.  He  is  of  unmixed 
English  descent,  the  son  of  DAVID  and  OLIVE  STODAKD 
JOHNSON.  His  father  died  in  1825,  at  Herkimer,  Herkimer 
county,  this  State.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  came  to  New 
York  while  he  was  yet  an  infant,  with  his  parents,  who  took 
up  their  residence  in  Herkimer  county.  He  received  a  com- 
mon school  education,  and  subsequently  was  engaged  some 
five  years  in  mercantile  pursuits.  From  1349  until  1856  he 
followed  the  business  of  jobbing,  as  a  contractor  on  the 
canals,  and  afterward  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
woolen  goods  at  Seneca  Falls,  where  he  now  resides.  Of  late 


66  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

years,  he  has  become  prominently  known  as  a  railroad  con- 
tractor. 

The  story  of  his  life,  as  he  himself  tells  it  in  familiar  con- 
versation, shows  that  his  career  has  been  indeed  a  chequered 
one.  Full  of  ups  and  downs,  of  fortunes  made  and  fortunes 
lost,  it  has  been  marked  throughout  by  an  unflagging  energy 
and  a  disposition  to  make  the  best  of  the  allotments  of  Fate, 
be  the  same  fair  or  foul.  Having  tried  his  hand  at  a  great 
variety  of  pursuits  he  has  accumulated  a  stock  of  experience 
of  a  rich  and  varied  nature. 

•  In  1862,  having  the  year  previous  represented  the  county 
of  Seneca  in  the  Assembly,  he  felt  moved  to  do  his  share  in 
putting  down  the  rebellion,  arguing,  doubtless,  that  it  was 
useless  to  concern  oneself  about  making  laws  for  a  country 
nntil  it  had  first  been  conclusively  settled  in  the  minds  of  all 
men  that  there  was,  and  was  to  be,  a  country  capable  of 
enforcing  obedience  to  its  laws  and  maintaining  its  own  exist- 
ence. He  raised  the  148th  regiment  New  York  State  volun- 
teers and  commanded  it  until  near  the  close  of  the  year  1863, 
when  he  resigned  and  returned  to  civil  life. 

In  the  Assembly  of  1861  he  was  assigned  a  place  on  two 
important  committees,  Canals  and  Commerce  and  Naviga- 
tion, and  made  an  intelligent  and  useful  legislator.  He  was 
adjudged  to  have  possessed  a  large  degree  of  representative 
ability,  and  to  have  faithfully  and  efficiently  discharged  his 
official  duties. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  has  been  elected  and  re-elected  to  the  Senate 
from  a  district  usually  carried  by  his  political  opponents,  and 
his  success  under  the  circumstances  was  a  signal  proof  of 
great  popularity.  Notwithstanding  the  other  side  had  a  rec- 
ord of  332  majority  for  1869  to  take  heart  with,  he  succeeded 
in  1871  in  wiping  those  figures  out  and  gaining  the  Senator- 
ship  by  a  majority  of  964.  In  the  last  Senate  he  was  on  the 
Standing  Committees  on  Canals,  Manufactures  and  Griev- 
ances, and  was  Chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  appointed 
to  investigate  the  charges  against  Tweed. 


CHARLES  KELLOGG.  67 

The  record  made  by  the  Senator  during  the  last  two  years 
commending  itself  to  his  constituents,  he  was  unanimously 
and  by  acclamation  renominated  to  represent  the  Twenty- 
sixth  district.  After  an  exciting  and  closely  contested  can- 
vass he  was  re-elected  over  his  Republican  opponent,  NES- 
TOR WOODWORTH,  by  a  majority  of  174.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  important  Committees  on  Canals  and  Manufactures, 
also  of  the  Militia  Committee. 

The  Senator  was  married  in  the  summer  of  1855,  to 
ANGELINE  CHAMBERLAIN,  daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  JACOB 
P.  CHAMBERLAIN. 


CHARLES  KELLOGG. 


The  Twenty-first  Senatorial  district  of  the  State  of  New 
York  consists  of  the  counties  of  Madison  and  Oswego. 
The  Senator  is  CHARLES  KELLOGG. 

Senator  KELLOGG,  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the 
present  body,  was  born  in  Minden,  Montgomery  county, 
on  the  4th  of  December,  1839.  His  father,  DANIEL  F.  KEL- 
LOGG, was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  in  1864.  After  receiv- 
ing a  thorough  education  at  the  Yates  Polytechnic  Institute 
at  Chittenango,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  applied  himself 
to  the  study  of  law.  He  attended  a  full  course  of  lectures 
at  the  Albany  Law  School  and  graduated  from  that  institu- 
tion in  1863.  He  has  ever  since  been  actively  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  At  the  present  time  he  is  a 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  LANSING  &  KELLOGG,  at  Chit- 
tenango, Madison  county. 

Mr.  KELLOGG  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  politics. 
Believing  in  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  he  has 
devoted  himself  as  opportunity  offered  to  the  advancement 
of  its  interests,  and  is  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  organization  in  Madison  county.  Though  still  a 


68  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

young  man,  being  but  a  little  past  thirty,  he  is  well  and 
favorably  known  throughout  the  Twenty-first  district. 

Mr.  KELLOGG  was  elected  to  the  high  position  which  he 
now  holds  by  a  majority  of  1,443  over  MATHEW  J.  SCHOE- 
CRAFT,  his  Democratic  opponent.  In  arranging  his  Standing 
Committees,  the  President  of  the  Senate  named  the  Senator 
for  several  important  places.  He  is  chairman  of  Eoads  and 
Bridges  and  a  member  of  two  other  of  the  most  important 
committees  of  the  Legislature,  Judiciary  and  Canals.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Salt. 

Mr.  KELLOGG  is  quiet  and  unassuming  in  his  manner,  and 
extremely  courteous  and  affable  to  all  with  whom  he  is 
brought  in  contact.  As  a  legislator  he  is  capable  and  effici- 
ent ;  seldom  absent  from  his  seat  in  the  Senate  chamber,  he 
keeps  a  sharp  watch  on  all  that  is  going  on.  Although  not 
a  frequent  speech-maker,  he  is  by  no  means  lacking  in  ability, 
to  express  himself  with  clearness  and  force. 


JOHN  A.  KING. 


THE  First  Senatorial  district  consists  of  the  counties  of 
Suffolk,  Queens  and  Eichmond.  The  Senator  is  JOHN  A. 
KING. 

JOHN  A.  KING  was  born  in  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  July 
14,  1817.  He  is  the  son  of  JOHN  A.  KING,  Governor  of 
New  York  in  1857  and  1858,  and  grandson  of  RUFUS  KING, 
who  filled  so  large  and  honorable  a  place  in  the  early  annals 
of  this  State  and  of  the  Union. 

After  attending  Union  Hall  Academy  at  Jamaica  for  ten 
years,  from  1822  to  1832,  he  entered  the  Sophomore  class  at 
Harvard  College,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in 
1835.  For  a  short  time  following  his  graduation  he  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  then  applied  himself  to  the  study 
of  law,  and  in  due  course  of  time  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 


JOHN  A.  KING.  69 

For  the  past  twenty  years  he  has  been  an  agriculturist, 
seeming  to  take  great  pleasure  in  the  pursuit  so  dear  to  his 
ancestors. 

In  politics,  Mr.  KING  was  a  Whig  until  the  formation  of 
the  Eepublican  party.  Since  then  he  has  been  an  unswerving 
and  ardent  Republican.  He  has  been  a  delegate  to  a  number 
of  the  State  conventions  of  his  party,  and  assisted  at  the 
nomination  of  GKANT  and  WILSON,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1872. 
He  was  elected  Republican  Presidential  elector  for  the  First 
Congressional  district  of  the  State  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year. 

Mr.  KING  was  termed  by  the  parties  opposed  to  him  in 
his  canvass  for  Senator,  as  "  the  ancestral  candidate,"  a  title 
of  which  he  had  no  reason  to  be  ashamed.  A  brief  sketch 
of  his  distinguished  father  and  grandfather  will  not  be  con- 
sidered out  of  place  in  this  connection. 

RUFUS  KING  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  filled  con- 
secutively the  office  of  representative  in  the  State  Legislature 
and  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention.  He  was, 
also,  a  member  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  present 
Federal  Constitution  in  1787,  and  enacted  an  influential  and 
conspicuous  part  in  its  important  and  difficult  deliberations. 
In  the  same  year,  he  removed  to  New  York  and  became  the 
first  United  States  Senator  elected  from  that  State.  In  the 
Senate  he  was  a  recognized  leader  of  the  Federalists,  or  anti- 
Democratic  party.  He  aided  in  the  expulsion  of  ALBERT 
GALLATIN  from  that  body,  and  subsequently,  when  he  and 
ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  attempted  to  address  a  public  meet- 
ing in  the  city  of  New  York,  called  to  uphold  the  celebrated 
"Jay  Treaty"  with  Great  Britain,  the  citizens  refused  to 
hear  them  lest  they  might  defeat  the  treaty.  They,  how- 
ever, accomplished  their  purpose  by  publishing  a  series  of 
articles  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  Mr.  KING  was  again 
elected  to  the  Senate  in  1795,  and  in  1796  resigned  to  accept 
the  mission  to  England  from  President  WASHINGTON.  In 
1813,  and  again  in  1820,  he  was  returned  to  the  Senate.  In 


70  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

1816  he  was  nominated  for  Governor  by  his  party.  In  1816 
he  ran  unsuccessfully  against  JAMES  MONROE  for  President. 
In  1821  he  sat  in  the  New  York  State  Constitutional  Con- 
vention. He  died  in  1828  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  seventy- 
three. 

His  friends  claim  for  RUFUS  KING,  that  he  was  the  origi- 
nator of  the  celebrated  Congressional  ordinance  of  1787,  by 
which  negro  slavery  was  abolished  in  the  North-west  Terri- 
tories. "When  in  Congress  in  1820,  he  also  opposed  the 
Missouri  proviso  or  "  Compromise,"  and  was  prominent  in 
opposition  to  the  admission  of  that  State  into  the  Union. 
THOMAS  H.  BENTON  in  his  "  Thirty  Years'  View  "  does  full 
justice  to  the  career  of  RUFUS  KING. 

JOHN  A.  KING,  father  of  the  Senator,  was  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States  in  1812,  and  held  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  in  the  militia  during  the  war.  He  six  times 
represented  the  county  of  Queens  in  the  Assembly  during 
the  years  1812,  1820,  1821,  1832,  1838  and  1840,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1823.  In  1825  he  was  Secre- 
tary of  Legation  at  London  under  his  father.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  where  he  highly  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  debate.  He  opposed  the  Compromise 
measures  of  1850  and  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  with  much 
ability  and  zeal.  In  1856  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republi- 
can Presidential  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  and  his  name 
was  suggested  for  the  Vice-Presidential  nomination  on  the 
ticket  with  Col.  FREMONT.  It  is  said  he  had  only  to  signify 
his  willingness  to  accept  to  have  secured  the  nomination 
which  was  given  to  Mr.  DAYTON,  of  New  Jersey.  He  was 
elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1856,  defeat- 
ing Hon.  A.  J.  PARKER,  the  Democratic  nominee,  by  a 
majority  of  65,784 

For  the  following  brief  sketch  of  the  Senator,  we  are 
indebted  to  the  Long  Island  Farmer.  Writing  of  his  nomi- 
nation, it  said : 


JOHN  A.  KING.  71 

"Senator  JOHN"  A.  KING,  eldest  son  of  the  Governor,  was 
born  in  Jamaica,  at  the  old  place  on  Beaver  Pond,  lately 
occupied  by  the  Hon.  WILLIAM  J.  COGSWELL.  The  house  was 
destroyed  by  fire  and  the  present  one  erected  by  the  late 
TUNIS  VAN  BBUNT.  Mr.  KING  graduated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  the  summer  of  1835.  He 
was  married  some  few  years  after,  and  for  a  long  time  has 
resided  at  Great  Neck,  taking  great  pleasure  in  the  pursuits 
so  dear  to  his  ancestors.  From  the  retirement  of  his  life  as 
a  gentleman  farmer,  he  now  comes  forth  for  the  first  time, 
to  occupy  an  important  political  position.  His  classical 
education,  together  with  great  familiarity  with  affairs  of 
State,  gained  by  seasons  of  residence  in  Washington,  and  by 
association  with  the  most  honorable  of  public  men,  makes 
him  eminently  fitted  to  fill  with  great  success  the  place  of 
State  Senator.  Inheriting  not  only  the  outward  appearance 
of  his  noble  father,  but  similar  traits  of  character,  we  know 
that  the  First  district  will  look  with  pride  upon  the  career 
of  its  representative  during  the  next  two  years,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  we  doubt  not  that  our  party  will  unite  in 
nominating  JOHN  A.  KING  as  candidate  for  the  National 
Congress,  where  his  grandfather,  father  and  uncle  had  been 
before  him." 

The  high  esteem  in  which  the  Senator  is  held  by  those 
who  know  him  best,  is  shown  in  the  extraordinary  vote  he 
received  in  his  senatorial  canvass.  He  had  a  majority  of 
1,707  in  a  district  which  had  been  known  as  a  Democratic 
stronghold.  It  never  had  elected  a  Republican  Senator 
before,  and  then  only  through  a  division  in  the  Democracy 
with  two  Democratic  candidates  running. 


LIFE  SKETCHES. 
ALBERT  P.  LANINGK 


The  Thirty-First  Senatorial  district  consists  of  the  county 
of  Erie,  and  the  Senator  is  ALBERT  P.  LADING,  of  Buffalo. 
He  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death 
of  the  brilliant  and  widely  lamented  JOHN  GANSON,  who 
was  suddenly  stricken  down  last  fall  in  the  midst  of  his 
years  and  his  usefulness. 

Mr.  LANING  was  born  in  Burlington,  in  the  county  of 
Otsego,  New  York,  in  the  year  1820,  and  is  of  English  and 
Irish  descent.  His  father,  who  was  a  Methodist  minister 
and  a  member  of  the  Genesee  Conference  some  forty  years 
ago,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  settled  in  Tompkins 
county,  New  York,  in  the  year  1799.  The  Senator  received 
a  common  school  and  academic  education,  and  during  the 
years  1838-39"  attended  the  Oneida  Conference  Seminary, 
situated  at  Cazenovia.  Leaving  school,  he  determined  on 
law  as  a  profession  and  entered  the  office  of  Judge  SHANK- 
LAND,  of  Courtland  county.  In  1845  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  at  once  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. After  ten  years  or  more  spent  in  Allegany  county, 
he  removed  to  Buffalo,  where  he  succeeded  to  the  practice 
of  Judge  MASTEN  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  Buffalo  he  has 
resided  ever  since,  and,  as  a  result  of  his  talents  and  industry, 
has  long  been  recognized  as  among  the  foremost  lawyers  of 
western  New  York. 

Senator  LANIKG  made  his  entrance  into  public  life  in 
1858,  when  he  represented  Erie  county  in  the  Lower  House. 
His  character  and  ability  was  appropriately  racognized  by 
Governor  ALVORD,  who  was  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  tha^ 
year,  who  gave  him  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  a  fellow 
Assemblyman  of  that  session,  Hon.  JARVIS  LORD,  of  Monroe, 
is  now  one  of  Mr.  LANING'S  fellow  Senators.  Mr.  LANING 


ALBERT  P.  LANING.  73 

has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  politics,  and  has  long  been 
held  in  high  esteem  in  the  councils  of  his  (the  Democratic) 
party.  He  was,  from  1854  until  1868,  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  State  Committee,  and  also  a  delegate  to  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  of  1864  that  nominated 
McClellan  and  Pendelton.  He  served  besides  as  alternate 
Delegate-at-Large  to  Conventions  in  1868,  1872. 

At  present  Mr.  LADING  is  associated  in  business  with  Mr. 
WILLETT,  under  the  firm  name  of  LANING  &  WILLE.TT.  He 
was  elected  to  the  Senate  over  FRANK  A.  ALBERGER,  by  a 
majority  of  984.  His  predecessor,  Mr.  GANSON,  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  708  over  Hon.  L.  L.  LEWIS,  who  had  been 
chosen  to  the  preceding  Senate  by  1,845. 

Mr.  LANING  is  a  member  of  the  following  important 
Committees :  Judiciary,  Commerce  and  Navigation  and 
Claims.  He  is  a  fluent  and  forcible  speaker ;  scans  closely 
all  the  measures  presented  to  the  Senate,  and  may  justly  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  able  and  useful  members  of  that 
body. 


74  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


THOMAS   A.  LEDWITH. 


The  Seventh  Senatorial  district  consists  of  the  18th,  20th, 
and  21st  wards  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  its  present 
representative  is  THOMAS  A.  LEDWITH.  Mr.  LEDWITH  was 
born  in  the  city  from  whence  he  now  hails  on  the  14th  of 
February,  1840.  He  was  educated  at  St.  Francis  Xavier 
College,  New  York,  and  graduated  therefrom  in  1856.  He 
at  once  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  law,  which  he 
had  chosen  for  his  profession,  and  in  1861  he  was  admitted 
to  practice.  "With  him  law  and  politics  went  hand  in  hand, 
and  in  1862  he  was  sent  to  the  Assembly  from  the  Eleventh 
district  of  the  metropolis,  being  elected  by  a  majority  of  over 
2,000.  He  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  1863,  and  signalized  his  entrance 
into  legislative  life  by  his  opposition  to  the  Broadway  railroad 
bill,  which  passed  and  was  vetoed  by  Governor  SETMOUE. 
He  was  assigned  a  place  on  the  important  committee  of  the 
judiciary.  The  author  of  the  "  Biographical  Sketches"  pub- 
lished in  1863,  speaking  of  Mr.  LEDWITH,  says :  "  He  is  said 
to  be  a  young  gentleman  of  excellent  attainments,  and  prom- 
ises to  rise  early  in  his  profession.  He  possesses  a  pleasant 
exterior,  never  attempts  any  forensic  display,  has  many  friends 
in  the  legislative  circle,  and  serves  his  constituents  truly  and 
faithfully,  being  in  every  way  worthy  of  their  confidence  and 
esteem." 

In  the  fall  of  1863,  Mr.  LEDWITH,  fresh  from  the  Legisla- 
ture, was  again  honored  with  a  testimonial  of  the  regard  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  political  friends.  The  Democracy 
nominated  and  elected  him  to  the  important  and  honorable 
position  of  police  justice.  His  administration  on  the  bench 
gave  such  satisfaction  that,  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
office,  he  was  in  1869  re-elected,  notwithstanding  the  stubborn 


JAR  vis  LORD.  75 

opposition  of  Tammany  Hall,  which  was  then  at  the  zenith 
of  its  power. 

In  1870  the  Young  Democracy  of  New  York  city  made 
him  their  candidate  for  mayor,  in  opposition  to  A.  OAKEY 
HALL.  He  made  a  spirited  canvass,  but  did  not  succeed  in 
securing  the  election.  Mr.  LEDWITH  was  elected  to  the  Senate 
by  a" majority  of  680  over  JAMES  EVERAED,  the  Republican 
candidate,  who  also  drew  to  his  support  the  Apollo  Hall 
branch  of  the  Democracy. 

Senator  LEDWITH  is  a  thorough  Democrat,  following 
strictly  party  lines  on  all  leading  questions  coming  before 
the  Senate.  He  is  a  member  of  the  following  committees : 
Insurance,  Public  Expenditures,  and  Engrossed  Bills. 


JARVIS  LORD. 


Mr.  LOED,  the  Senator  from  the  twenty-eighth  district, 
was  born  at  Ballston,  Saratoga  county,  February  10,  1816. 
He  is  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  as  vigorous  as  he  was  at 
twenty-five ;  of  good  physical  proportions,  an  excellent  con- 
stitution, and  a  temperament  adapted  to  severe  endurance, 
both  of  body  and  mind;  he  has  been  favored  with  good 
health,  and  seldom  tires  by  active  labor. 

Mr.  LOED  was  the  son  of  poor  parents,  and  had  no  other 
educational  advantages  than  those  afforded  by  the  common 
schools  in  the  days  of  his  boyhood.  He  availed  himself  of 
these,  however,  so  far  as  to  acquire  a  tolerable  knowledge  of 
those  branches  which  were  to  be  most  essential  to  his  future 
success  in  business  life.  He  early  adopted  the  avocation  of 
farming,  and  though,  during  most  of  his  subsequent  life,  he 
has  had  large  interests  in  other  pursuits,  he  has  made  the 
farm  his  home,  and  has  taken  a  pride  in  the  culture  of  the 


76  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Boil.  He  has  resided,  for  thirty  years  or  more,  at  Pittsford, 
seven  miles  from  Rochester,  and  has  there  one  of  the  best 
cultivated  and  most  productive  farms  in  Monroe  county. 
He  takes  delight  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit  and  the  raising 
of  stock,  devoting  himself  particularly  to  horses,  of  which  he 
is  a  great  admirer. 

Mr.  LORD  has  always  been  a  Democrat  of  the  JACKSON 
and  WRIGHT  school.  Devoted  to  the  Union,  he  warmly 
espoused  the  Federal  cause  at  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion, 
and  gave  freely  to  promote  the  national  interests,  and,  it  is 
said,  did  more  than  any  other  man  in  his  town  to  keep  the 
calls  for  men  filled,  and  to  help  the  soldiers  in  the  field  and 
at  home.  He  has  enjoyed  a  personal  popularity  in  his  own 
town  equaled  by  few  men,  and  when  nominated  for  office, 
his  neighbors  have  supported  him  with  enthusiasm.  He  was 
made  the  recipient  of  a  testimonial  in  the  spring  of  1871, 
which  spoke  volumes  as  to  his  success  in  office,  and  his 
assured  place  in  the  confidence  of  those  who  had  intrusted 
vital  interests  to  his  keeping.  Serving  two  terms  in  the 
lower  House,  and  one  term  in  the  upper  one,  he  had  devel- 
oped signal  legislative  capacity,  and  an  unfaltering  devotion 
to  the  best  interests  of  his  constituents.  On  his  return 
home  in  1871,  at  the  end  of  his  first  Senatorial  term,  his 
constituents,  without  distinction  of  party,  gave  expression  to 
their  appreciation  of  their  gratitude  for  his  services  in  their 
regard  by  affording  for  his  acceptance  a  testimonial  in  the 
shape  of  an  elaborate  service  of  plate.  The  presentation  cer- 
emonies took  place  at  the  Senator's  residence  at  Pittsford,  and 
a  special  train  was  run  from  Rochester  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  large  number  who  desired  to  be  present  on  the 
interesting  occasion.  The  presentation  speech  was  made  by 
WILLIAM  N".  SAGE,  and  Senator  LORD  made  an  appropriate, 
•eloquent  and  feeling  response.  Letters  were  read  from 
prominent  gentlemen  regretting  their  inability  to  be  present 
on  the  interesting  occasion,  and  expressing  their  congratula- 
tions. 


JAR  vis  LORD.  77 

The  formality  of  presentation  over,  the  presents  were 
inspected  and  admired.  The  testimonial  consisted  of  the 
following  articles :  Silver  server,  coffee  urn,  two  tea  pots,  sugar 
bowl,  cream  pitcher,  slop  bowl,  card  dish,  fruit  stand  and 
soup  tureen.  The  articles  are  all  solid  sterling  silver,  hand- 
somely engraved  and  gold  lined.  The  silver  is  marked : 

"  Hon.  JAEVIS  LORD,  from  the  citizens  of  the  twenty-eighth 
Senatorial  district  of  New  York,  as  an  acknowledgment  of 
faithful  services.* 

All  the  articles  named  are  marked  with  the  monogram, 
"J.  L."  in  handsome  old  English  letter.  The  cost  of  the 
testimonial  was  $2,500. 

And  now  a  few  details  of  that  legislative  career  of  which 
we  have  spoken,  and  a  word  as  to  the  Senator's  business  his- 
tory. He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1858,  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket,  when  the  district  went  Eepublican  by  several 
hundreds.  He  was  elected  again  in  1866,  by  a  majority  of 
fifteen  over  a  strong  opponent,  when  the  district  gave  Governor 
FENTON"  600  majority.  At  the  opening  of  the  Legislature, 
in  1867,  his  party  presented  him  as  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Speaker,  and  sustained  him  by  an  unbroken  vote ; 
but  the  Kepublican  majority  in  the  House  accomplished  the 
election  of  Mr.  PITTS.  He  has  once  or  more  served  as  Super- 
visor. 

Mr.  LORD  has  been  engaged  for  many  years  in  building 
canals  in  this  State,  and  he  is  very  widely  known  as  a 
contractor.  He  is  President  of  the  Bank  of  Monroe,  of 
Kochester,  a  sound  and  reliable  institution,  and  as  a  business 
man  is  well  and  favorably  known  all  over  central  and  western 
New  York. 

Mr.  LORD  has  been  a  member  of  the  Senate  since  1870, 
and  in  that  year  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee. Although  a  new  man  in  that  body,  at  that  time,  he 
took  a  leading  position  from  the  start,  and  gave  evidence  of 
an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  wants  and  resources  of  the 
State.  His  report  on  the  payment  of  a  portion  of  the  State 


78  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

debt  in  coin,  made  during  the  first  year  of  his  term,  was 
regarded  as  a  paper  of  great  clearness  and  force.  The  Senator 
was  renominated  in  1871,  and  again  in  1873,  under  circum- 
stances which  must  have  been  peculiarly  gratifying  to  him, 
indicating,  as  they  did,  that  his  course  as  a  legislator  met 
with  the  hearty  approval  of  his  constituents.  Before  the 
renomination  was  made  in  1871,  a  letter  was  read  to  the 
convention  from  him,  declining  another  senatorial  term,  and 
giving  his  reasons  therefor.  The  convention  not  seeing  eye 
to  eye  with  Mr.  LOKD  on  that  point,  and  having  nominated 
him  by  acclamation,  sent  a  committee  to  inform  the  nominee 
of  their  action,  whereof  the  Senator  appeared  in  the  conven- 
tion and  said  if  his  letter  of  declination  would  not  suffice,  he 
would  yield  to  the  wishes  of  his  constituents  and  take  the 
field.  He  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  1,838,  an  increase  of 
1,138  on  his  majority  of  1869.  He  was  elected  to  the  present 
Senate  by  a  still  larger  majority,  3,384,  an  increase  of  1,546 
over  the  majority  of  1871,  and  an  increase  of  2,684  over  the 
figures  for  1869. 

Mr.  LOED  does  not  claim  to  be  an  orator.  His  attention 
has  never  been  bestowed  on  the  embellishments  of  rhetoric 
and  elocution.  Whenever  he  has  an  opinion  to  utter  he 
delivers  it  point  blank  and  with  force,  if  not  with  grace. 
His  shrewdness,  plain  sense  and  knowledge  of  the  world  are 
his  leading  characteristics,  and  they  serve  him  well  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  ends  as  a  Senator. 


SAMUEL  S.  LOWERY.  79 


SAMUEL  S.  LOWERY. 


SAMUEL  S.  LOWERY,  of  Utica,  who  represents  the  Nine- 
teenth Senatorial  District,  consisting  of  the  county  of  Oneida 
was  born  in  county  Down,  Ireland,  on  the  5th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1831.  It  would,  therefore,  be  a  Hibernicism  to  say 
that  he  is  a  Scotchman,  but  his  ancestry,  not  less  than  his 
characteristics,  stamp  him  as  one  who  is  more  a  Gael  than 
a  Celt. 

Senator  LOWERY'S  parents  emigrated  to  this  country  when 
SAMUEL  was  about  fourteen  years  old,  and  settled  in  Oneida, 
county.  He  received  a  good  common  school  education  in 
Ireland,  and,  by  reason  of  a  strong  taste  for  books,  he  has 
acquired,  during  his  later  years  in  this  country,  an  extensive 
fund  of  knowledge. 

The  Senator  is,  by  occupation,  a  manufacturer  of  woolen 
goods.  In  this  business  he  has  been  quite  successful,  and 
conducts,  at  the  present  time,  an  extensive  establishment,  in 
which  he  employs  a  large  number  of  hands.  He  settled  in 
Whitestown,  Oneida  county,  on  his  arrival  in  this  country, 
and  there  remained  until  the  year  1848.  From  thence,  he 
went  to  Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  con- 
nected with  a  woolen  mill  until  1855,  when  he  left  and  came 
to  Utica,  and  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business.  Success 
crowned  his  efforts,  and,  in  1861,  he  abandoned  dry  goods  to 
become  a  wool  dealer,  and,  two  years  later,  started  the  mill 
which  he  has  since  run. 

In  politics  Senator  LOWERY,  although  a  strict  believer  in 
the  principles  of  the  Eepublican  organization,  is  never  bit- 
terly partisan.  Until  his  election  to  the  Assembly  in  1870, 
he  neither  held  nor  sought  office.  He  was  chosen  to  that 
body  by  a  majority  of  448,  over  a  worthy  and  popular  com- 


80  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

petitor,  in  a  district  where  the  Eepublican  majority,  in  the 
previous  year,  was  less  than  50.  Serving  upon  the  Commit- 
tees on  Public  Education,  State  Charitable  Institutions,  and 
Eoads  and  Bridges,  he  proved  faithful  to  the  interest  of  his 
constituents,  and  exhibited  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
the  duties  of  a  legislator.  As  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Education,  he  was  especially  distinguished  for  his  sturdy 
and  unflinching  opposition  to  the  policy  of  sectarian  appro- 
priations. 

Mr.  LOWERY  was  elected  to  the  last  Senate  by  a  majority 
of  1,591  over  his  opponent  (who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
preceding  Senate,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  52),  in  a 
canvass  in  which  the  Republican  candidate  for  Secretary  of 
State  received  a  majority  of  1,023,  in  the  Nineteenth  Sena- 
torial District.  Senater  LOWERY  was  very  properly  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  Committee  on  Manufactures;  he  was  also 
Chairman  of  the  State  Prison  Committee,  and  a  member  of 
several  other  important  committees.  He  had  the  honor  of 
renominating  ROSCOE  CONKLING  for  United  States  Senator, 
and  his  speech,  in  joint  caucus  of  the  Republican  members 
of  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  in  presenting  that  gentleman, 
was  an  able  and  eloquent  effort. 

His  name  having  been  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  mayoralty  of  Utica  last  year,  the  Senator  informed  his 
friends  that,  while  representing  the  Nineteenth  Senatorial 
District,  he  felt  in  obligation  bound  to  decline  any  other 
office,  the  holding  of  which  might  interfere  with  his  Sena- 
torial duties. 

The  Senator  was  not  ungrateful  for  the  honor  sought  to 
be  conferred  upon  him  by  his  fellow-townsmen,  but  he  wisely 
chose  not  to  accept  an  office  which  might  divide  his  atten- 
tion, caring  first  to  redeem,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  most 
strict  constructionist,  the  obligations  assumed  with  the  office 
of  Senator. 

Mr.  LOWERY  was  renominated  for  the  position  which  he 
now  holds  without  so  much  as  even  the  mention  of  a  com- 


EDWARD  M.  MADDEN.  81 

petitor,  or  the  suggestion  of  opposition  in  the  convention  that 
named  him.  He  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  2,829  orer 
ENOCH  B.  ARMSTRONG,  running  1,200  ahead  of  the  State 
ticket  majority  in  1871,  which  was  1,591.  Commenting 
upon  his  renomination,  the  Albany  Evening  Journal  paid 
him  this  handsome  and  well-deserved  tribute  : 

"  Senator  LOWERY  is  universally  known,  first  of  all,  as  a 
scrupulously  honest  and  upright  representative,  the  inflexi- 
ble foe  of  all  jobbery,  and  the  sworn  enemy  of  the  lobby. 
With  this  most  important  of  qualifications,  he  unites  sound 
judgment,  ample  ability  and  large  acquaintance  with  the 
wants  and  interests  of  the  State.  As  an  influential  member 
of  the  Finance  Committee,  Mr.  LOWERY  has  faithfully  co- 
operated in  every  effort  to  protect  the  treasury  and  defeat  all 
improper  demands  upon  it.  He  has  met  all  questions  with  a 
conscientious  sense  of  public  duty,  and  his  whole  influence 
and  action  as  a  legislator  have  been  wholesome." 


EDWARD   M.  MADDEN. 


There  are  some  men  who,  remembering  the  implied  injunc- 
tion of  Holy  Writ  contained  in  the  exclamation,  "  I  would 
thou  wert  either  cold  or  hot,"  do  whatsoever  their  hands  find 
to  do  with  unqualified  fervency.  They  recognize  no  such 
things  in  the  world  as  half-truths;  to  them  whatever  is  not 
radically  right  is  radically  wrong,  and  vice  versa.  Their 
trumpets  never  give  forth  an  uncertain  sound  or  one  wanting 
in  volume,  and  if  all  the  Jericho  walls  at  which  their  efforts 
are  directed  do  not  tumble,  they  —  gazing  upon  some  stub- 
born piece  of  masonry  on  which  their  trumpeting  makes  no 
impression  —  have  the  consolation  that  goes  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  always  making  a  red-hot  and  never  a  luke- 
warm fight. 

Senator  MADDEN  belongs  to  this  school  of  men.  He  has 
decided  convictions,  and  is  very  decided  in  expressing  them. 
11 


82  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Once  his  mind  is  made  up,  h«  is  extremely  hard  to  move 
from  his  position,  and  whoever  questions  the  faith  that  is  in 
him  is  sure  to  hear  the  reasons  on  which  that  faith  rests 
couched  in  unequivocal  language.  His  aye  and  nay  are  like 
a  woman's  : 

"  When  he  wills,  he  wills,  you  may  depend  on't. 
And  if  he  wont,  he  wont,  so  there's  an  end  on't." 

GEORGE  W.  BUNG  AT,  the  poet,  in  a  volume  of  "  Pen  and  Ink 
Portraits,"  issued  in  1857,  has  a  readable  sketch  of  the 
subject  of  this  biography,  from  which  we  take  the  following: 

"  Senator  MADDEN  represents  the  county  of  Orange,  where 
he  was  born,  has  always  lived,  and  where  he  will  probably 
die,  unless  political  events  so  shape  themselves  that  his 
unquenchable  love  of  liberty,  and  intense  hatred  of  slavery, 
should  induce  him  to  leave  his  Lares  and  Penates,  and 
migrate  to  Kansas.*  Like  many  other  men  of  mark,  he  is 
wholly  the  artificer  of  his  own  fortune.  He  had  no  advan- 
tages of  early  education.  From  the  age  of  nine  to  fourteen 
he  commenced  fitting  himself  for  the  great  battle  of  life  as  an 
operative  in  a  cotton  factory;  thence  he  pursued  his  studies 
as  an  apprentice  in  a  tin  shop ;  graduated  in  a  hardware 
store,  and  took  his  final  degree,  as  a  retail  merchant,  at  Mid- 
dletown,  where  he  now  has  a  very  extensive  saw  factory. 
Nature  has  done  much  for  him.  Gifted  with  a  fine  consti- 
tution, his  iron  will,  unbending  energy,  indomitable  perse- 
verance and  unflagging  industry  have  combined  to  make 
him  a  hard  student  and  a  well-read  man.  His  mind  is  well 
stored  with  practical  knowledge,  and  few  men  are  so  thor- 
oughly posted  in  the  political  history  of  our  State  or  country. 
There  is  no  man  in  the  Senate  of  greater  pluck  or  nerve. 
Governed  in  all  his  actions  by  fixed  principles,  nothing  ever 
turns  him  from  his  purpose,  when  his  course  is  once  marked 
out.  The  State  never  had  a  more  watchful  guardian  over 
its  interests.  He  is  extremely  sensitive  and  jealous  about  all 

*  He  probably  has  given  up  the  idea  of  going  to  Kansas.— [Ed. 


EDWARD  M.  MADDEN.  83 

inroads  upon  the  treasury  —  more  so  than  if  it  were  his  own 
private  purse.  His  active  business  habits  make  him  invalu- 
able on  committees,  and  woe  betide  the  unlucky  wight  who 
comes  before  him  with  a  doubtful  claim.  He  participates 
freely  in  all  debates,  dissecting  the  subtleties  and  sophistries 
of  lawyers  with  the  sharp  scalpel  of  common  sense.  He  is  a 
nervous,  rapid  speaker,  and  no  man  in  the  Senate  is  more 
earnest,  energetic,  forcible  or  convincing.  He  goes  in  a 
straight  geometrical  line  right  to  the  point,  without  any 
flowers  of  rhetoric,  but  with  a  directness  that  there  is  no 
mistaking.  He  uses  no  pearls  of  poetry,  or  flights  of  fancy, 
but  deals  altogether  in  the  purest  and  strongest  Anglo-Saxon. 
He  always  votes  in  accordance  with  his  convictions^  No 
motives  of  policy,  expediency  or  interest ;  no  regard  for 
individuals  or  localities ;  no  personal  friendships,  can  make 
him  swerve  one  hair's  breadth  from  his  line  of  duty.  He 
engages  in  no  *  log  rolling,'  never  aiding  any  project  of  doubt- 
ful propriety  to  secure  assistance  in  measures  of  real  merit." 

Senator  MADDEN  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  and  was  elected 
to  the  Senate  in  1856-7  as  an  an ti- Nebraska  man.  He  was 
Chairman  of  the  Insurance  Committee  in  that  body,  and  a 
member  of  the  Finance,  Claims,  and  Commerce  and  Naviga- 
tion Committees.  He  made  a  good  record,  proving  himself 
to  be  a  strong,  popular,  earnest  man.  He  was  elected  to  the 
last  Senate  by  a  majority  of  2,085  over  his  opponent,  GEORGE 
M.  BEEBE,  a  member  of  the  present  Assembly. 

In  the  election  for  Senator  in  the  Tenth  district,  in  Novem- 
ber last,  the  board  of  canvassers  gave  the  certificate  to  FRANK 
ABBOTT,  thereby  declaring  him  elected,  and  Mr.  MADDEN, 
his  opponent,  defeated.  Mr.  MADDEN  claimed  that  the 
inspectors  wrongfully  rejected  two  sets  of  returns  from  Sul- 
livan county,  whose  admission  would  have  made  him  the 
sitting  member  for  the  Tenth  district.  His  petition,  claim- 
ing the  seat,  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Privileges  and 
Elections  of  the  Senate,  who  presented  a  majority  report, 
recommending  that  the  seat  be  awarded  to  Mr.  MADDEN.  A 


84  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

minority  report,  recommending  that,  pending  a  thorough 
investigation,  Mr.  ABBOTT  retain  his  seat,  was  also  presented. 
The  Senate,  after  an  exciting  debate,  adopted  the  majority 
report,  whereupon  Mr.  MADDEN"  appeared,  was  sworn  in, 
and  took  his  seat. 

Mr.  MADDEN  has  great  personal  strength  in  the  Tenth 
district,  otherwise  he  could  not  so  often  overcome  the  fre- 
quently adverse  majority  in  his  own  county.  He  is  always 
careful  of  the  interests  of  his  constituents,  and,  as  we  have 
already  indicated,  frank  and  fearless  in  the  expression  of  his 
own  views  on  all  questions  which  bear  upon  the  interests  of 
the  whole  State. 


ARCHIBALD  C.  McGOWAN. 


ARCHIBALD  0.  McGowAN  was  born  in  Pownal,  Benning- 
ton  county,  Vt,  August  26,  1825.  His  grandfather,  JAMES 
McGowAN",  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1750,  and  emigrated 
to  the  Colonies  before  the  ^Revolution.  He  served  in 
the  Continental  army  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington.  Before  the  war  he  settled  in  Hoosick,  Eenssalaer 
Co.,  where  CLARK  McGowAN",  the  father  of  ARCHIBALD,  was 
born.  The  parents  of  the  Senator  died  while  he  was  an 
infant,  leaving  him  an  orphan  and  the  youngest  of  the 
family.  He  was  taken  in  charge  by  his  relatives  and  given 
a  common  school  education.  At  the  age  of  17  years  he 
obtained  employment  as  a  clerk  and  procured  the  means  to 
attend  the  Jonesville  Academy,  in  Saratoga  county.  After 
leaving  school  he  returned  to  his  employment  as  a  clerk  and 
followed  it  for  a  few  years,  and  then  engaged  in  business  for 
himself  as  a  merchant,  also  attending  to  and  carrying  on 
tha  business  of  farmer,  boat  builder,  and  dealer  in  lumber 
ai.d  coal.  At  the  age  of  25  he  was  married  to  Miss  MARY 


ARCHIBALD  C.  MC&OWAN.  85 

LOUISA  EOGERS,  daughter  of  H.  H.  ROGERS,  of  Saratoga 
county,  and  his  partner  in  business  for  many  years. 

The  Senator,  in  politics,  was  a  Democrat  until  1856,  when 
he  voted  for  MILLARD  FILLMORE,  but  in  1858  united  with  the 
Republican  party,  to  which  party  he  has  ever  since  adhered. 
He  represented  the  town  of  Frankfort  in  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  of  Herkimer  county,  for  several  years,  and  in 
1862  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly  from  the 
county  and  served  on  the  committee  on  canals.  At  the 
Assembly  District  Convention,  1863,  he  was  tendered  a 
renomination,  which  he  declined,  and  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convention: 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  cordially  endorses  the 
official  course  of  Hon.  A.  C.  McGowAN,  as  the  Representa- 
tive of  the  2d  District  of  Herkimer  county  in  the  State 
Assembly  at  its  last  session ;  that  we  are  proud  of  the  past ; 
that  amid  so  general  corruption  in  that  Assembly,  he  stood 
pure  and  firm  against  all  the  seductive  influences  around 
him,  and  came  back  to  us  with  an  unimpeached  integrity ; 
that  we  especially  indorse  the. course  he  pursued  on  the 
Broadway  Rail  Road  and  Erie  Canal  Lock  questions,  and 
the  vote  he  cast  relative  to  those  measures,  and  we  view 
with  reprehension  the  attempts  that  were  made  to  damage 
his  reputation  as  a  member  of  that  Assembly,  in  consequence 
of  the  correct  views  he  expressed  and  the  sound  policy  he 
adopted  respecting  the  great  Canal  interests  of  our  State. 

In  1865  he  was  again  sent  to  the  Assembly  from  the  same 
District  and  served  on  the  Committees  on  Census  and  Ap- 
portionment, Engrossed  Bills  and  was  the  Chairman  of  the 
Joint  Library  Committee.  His  official  course  in  that 
session  was  such  that  when  he  returned  home,  his  conduct 
was  cordially  indorsed  by  his  constituents.  He  has  several 
times  represented  his  party  in  State  Conventions. 

At  the  County  Convention  held  at  Herkimer,  in  1869, 
delegates  favorable  to  his  nomination  for  Senator  in  the  20th 
'  Senatorial  District  were  unanimously  chosen  and  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  passed : 


86  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Resolved,  That  appreciating  political  integrity  and  moral 
worth,  and  pointing  with  pride  to  the  course  of  A.  C. 
McGowAN"  during  his  service  of  two  years  in  the  Assembly 
of  the  State,  we  do  hereby  present  him  to  the  Delegates  of 
the  Eepublican  Union  Senatorial  Convention  to  be  held  at 
Richfield  Springs,  October  8th,  as  a  gentleman  of  ability 
and  of  integrity,  unassailable  either  in  his  private  or  official 
life,  and  as  a  most  fitting  representative  of  the  Republicans 
in  this  District  in  the  next  Senate. 

Resolved,  That,  challenging  the  closest  scrutiny  of  the 
entire  career  of  the  Hon.  A.  0.  McGowAN",  we  do  hereby 
name  him  as  our  choice  for  next  Senator  for  this  district, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  this  end  to  the  interest  of 
the  whole  people,  and  with  the  purpose  to  attest  our  appre- 
ciation of  his  honest,  tried,  official  life,  we  do  hereby  appoint 
our  delegates  to  the  convention  above  named,  relying  upon 
their  fidelity  to  carry  out  the  wishes  hereby  expressed. 

At  the  Senatorial  Convention  held  soon  thereafter,  the 
delegates  from  Herkimer  county,  in  accordance  with  those 
resolutions,  presented  the  name  of  the  Hon.  A.  C.  McGowAN, 
and  the  Otsego  delegates  presented  the  name  of  the  Hon.  A. 
B.  ELLWOOD,  and,  each  county  having  the  same  number  of 
delegates,  the  balloting  stood  a  tie  between  them  for  a  great 
number  of  times.  Otsego  county  claimed  the  candidate  to 
be  located  in  said  county,  according  to  the  established  usages 
of  the  party,  and,  by  his  request,  Mr.  McGowAN's  delegates 
withdrew  his  name  from  the  canvass,  and  Mr.  ELLWOOD  was 
unanimously  nominated. 

At  the  next  Senatorial  nominating  convention  held  in  1871, 
Mr.  McGowAN  was  again  the  unanimous  choice  of  his  own 
county  for  senator,  and,  after  a  few  complimentary  votes  for 
Mr.  ELLWOOD  by  Otsego  delegates,  his  name  was  withdrawn, 
and  Mr.  McGowAN  received  a  unanimous  nomination. 

The  Journal  and  Courier,  the  leading  Republican  paper 
published  at  Little  Falls,  indorsed  his  nomination  in  the 
following  editorial : 

"  Of  Mr.  McGowAN,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  record  our' 
indorsement.  He  has  long  been  known  to  the  people  of  this 
county.  He  has  been  tried,  and  found  not  wanting,  in  those 


ARCHIBALD  C.  McGowAN.  87 

sterling  qualities  which  endear  a  representative  to  his  con- 
stituents. Mr.  McGowAN  is  emphatically  a  self-made  man. 
Thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  an  early  age,  he  has  won 
his  way  to  a  proud  position  in  the  esteem  of  the  people  of  this 
locality.  For  several  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  of  the  county,  and  for  two  terms  he  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  Assembly  of  the  State,  in  each  posi- 
tion performing  his  duties  faithfully,  without  even  the  breath 
of  suspicion  upon  his  integrity,  and  with  that  respect  of  his 
associates  which  intelligence  and  uprightness  always  com- 
mand." 

The  Eichfield  Springs  Mercury,  a  leading  and  influential 
paper  of  Otsego  county  (neutral  in  politics),  gave  him  the 
following  handsome  compliment : 

"  Mr.  McGowA  N"  is  a  gentleman  of  fine  abilities.  He  is  what 
may  be  called  a  worker  in  his  party.  He  represented  Herki- 
mer  county  in  the  legislative  halls,  and  returned  to  his  con- 
stituents with  a  clean  record.  He  is  a  gentleman  who  frowns 
upon  stealing  in  high  or  low  places,  and  we  believe  him  to 
be  incorruptible  in  private  or  public  life.  He  is  a  man  of 
sterling  worth  and  will  honor  his  district.  We  do  not  intend 
to  take  up  the  political  gauntlet,  but  we  have  said  this  much 
for  Mr.  McGowAsr,  for  we  know  whereof  we  speak,  having 
had  a  personal  acquaintance  with  him  for  the  past  seventeen 
years.  We  hope  he  will  have  a  rousing  majority." 

JOHN"  F.  SCOTT,  a  wealthy  and  popular  man,  who,  by  a 
wide  circle  of  acquaintances,  was  well  known  in  Otsego 
county,  was  the  opposing  candidate.  He  threw  his  whole 
strength  into  the  contest,  and  made  an  active  and  stirring 
canvass  against  Mr.  McGowAN",  and  carried  his  own  county 
by  a  majority  of  680.  But  Mr.  McGowAX  was  so  popular  in 
his  own  county,  and  his  public  record  so  clear,  that  he 
received  a  majority  of  1323,  the  highest  given  to  any  candi- 
date on  the  ticket  in  that  canvass  in  the  county,  and  was 
elected.  He  was  placed  on  five  committees,  Canals,  Salt, 
Agriculture,  Select  Committee  of  Nine,  General  Orders  and 
Congressional  Apportionment.  He  was  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Agriculture,  and  it  was  through  him  as  such 


88  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Chairman  that  all  the  Agricultural   Societies  of  the  State 
presented  their  affairs  to  the  Senate. 

His  official  course  during  his  entire  Senatorial  term  was  so 
satisfactory  to  his  constituents,  that,  at  the  Senatorial  Con- 
vention in  1873,  to'  nominate  a  candidate,  Otsego  county 
yielded  her  claims,  and  Mr.  McGowAN"  received  the  high 
compliment  of  a  renomination  for  another  Senatorial  term. 
The  opposing  candidate  this  time  was  DAVID  A.  AVERT,  of 
Cooperstown,  a  popular  banker  of  that  place.  There  was  a 
full  State  ticket  in  the  field  which  called  out  a  full  vote,  and 
Mr.  AVEEY  with  his  friends  entered  on  the  canvass  with 
much  zeal.  But  Mr.  McG-owAN  had  so  well  established  his 
reputation  as  a  wise  and  careful  legislator,  and  kept  his 
record  so  clear,  that  the  majority  in  Otsego  county  against 
him  was  reduced  to  about  200,  and  he  was  triumphantly 
re-elected  to  the  Senate.  He  ran  ahead  of  his  own  ticket  in 
both  counties.  His  success  demonstrates  that  honesty,  even 
in  politics,  is  the  best  policy. 


ANDREW  C.  MIDDLETON. 


ANDREW  0.  MIDDLETO^  represents  the  eighteenth  Sena- 
torial district,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Jefferson  and  Lewis. 
His  father,  SAMUEL  MIDDLETON,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Charleston,  Montgomery  county,  in  the  year  1796.  He  moved 
•to  Eutland,  Jefferson  county,  in  the  spring  of  1807,  and  in 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  settled  on  the  farm  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  his  death  in  November,  1873,  a  period 
of  sixty-six  years.  In  those  days  of  restlessness,  when  the 
first  of  each  recurring  May  means  moving  to  so  many 
Americans,  the  fact  of  a  man's  living  in  the  same  place  for 
the  space  of  sixty-six  years  is  indeed  noteworthy.  SERAPH 
MIDDLETON,  the  mother  of  the  Senator,  was  born  in  Eut- 


ANDREW  C.   MlDDLETON.  89 

land  in  1802,  and  was  married  to  SAMUEL  MIDDLETON 
April  26,  1821.  A  family  of  six  children  was  the  fruit  of 
the  union,  all  of  whom  are  living,  with  the  exception  of 
one  daughter. 

ANDREW,  the  second  son,  was  born  April  5,  1824.  He 
was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  has  always  made  farming  his 
main  business.  He  received  a  common  school  and  academic 
education,  and  after  ceasing  to  be  taught,  continued  in 
school  as  a  teacher  for  a  number  of  winters.  In  1849  he 
became  Town  Superintendent  of  common  schools,  a  position 
which  he  filled  satisfactorily  for  two  years.  In  the  year  1858 
he  was  elected  Supervisor  for  the  town  of  Eutland,  and  was 
continued  as  such  during  the  two  following  years.  Again, 
in  1868,  he  occupied  the  same  position.  During  the  war  he 
was  appointed  Deputy  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue.  For 
the  years  1872  and  1873  he  was  President  of  the  Jefferson 
County  Farmers'  Club.  This  record  of  service  indicates 
that  the  Senator  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  his  neighbors  and 
friends.  Mr.  MIDDLETON  is  prominently  identified  with  the 
Grange  organization  in  this  State,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Independent  Grangers  of  New  York,  held  in  Albany  on  the 
4th  of  March,  he  was  honored  by  being  elected  President  of 
the  State  Council. 

Senator  MIDDLETON  cast  his  first  vote  in  the  fall  of  1845 
in  favor  of  the  Whig  ticket,  and  a  Whig  he  remained  until 
the  organization  of  the  Republican  party.  In  our  later 
politics  he  has  cast  his  vote  for  FREMONT,  LINCOLN  and 
GRANT. 

The  nomination  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Mr. 
MIDDLETON  to  the  Senate  was  made  October  20,  1873,  by 
a  convention  of  farmers  in  the  interest  of  reform,  and  bent 
on  furthering  the  cause  of  the  industrial  classes.  The  call 
for  the  Convention  was  signed  by  over  one  hundred 
practical  farmers.  The  Democratic  Senatorial  Convention 
which  met  soon  after  resolved  not  to  make  any  nomination 
but  earnestly  recommended  the  Democratic  and  Liberal 
12 


90  '  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Republican  electors  of  the  District  "  to  vote  for  the  farmers' 
and  industrial  men's  candidate."  Mr.  MIDDLKTON  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  903  over  NOEKIS  WINSLOW,  who 
had  been  chosen  to  the  previous  Senate  by  a  majority  of  1,771. 
Mr.  MIDDLETOK  is  very  properly  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Committee  on  Agriculture.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Public  Expenditures  and  Grievances. 


HUGH  H.  MOORE.  91 


HUGH  H.  MOORE. 


The  Eight  Senatorial  district,  composed  of  the  Twelfth, 
Nineteenth  and  Twenty-second  wards  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  is  represented  by  HUGH  H.  MOORE,  the  youngest 
member  of  the  upper  House.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  the 
county  of  Limerick,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1844.  Both  his 
parents  also  were  born  in  Ireland  and  are  still  living. 

The  Senator  was  educated  in  St.  Steven's  church  school  in 
Canada,  and  in  one  of  the  many  good  schools  of  the  city  of 
New  York.  After  leaving  his  books  he  learned  his  trade  as 
a  painter,  but  for  many  years  he  has  been  principally  jknown 
in  business  circles  as  an  extensive  contractor. 

In  the  late  war  for  the  defense  of  the  Union,  Senator 
Moore  bore  his  part  manfully.  He  served  in  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirty-third  New  York  Begiment  under  Generals 
BUTLER  and  BANKS,  and  participated  in  a  number  of  the 
engagements  that  preceded  the  siege  at  Port  Hudson.  His 
army  history  is  unique  in  one  respect,  he  never  actually 
enlisted.  Having  a  brother  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Thirty-third  regiment,  he  ran  away  from  home,  being  at  the 
time  but  a  mere  lad,  and  joined  that  command  without  go- 
ing through  the  form  of  enlisting. 

The  seat  of  the  Eight  Senatorial  district  in  the  first  public 
position  ever  held  by  Mr.  MOORE.  He  did,  indeed  run  for 
Alderman  in  New  York  in  the  years  1869  and  1870,  as  the 
Anti-Tammany  candidaLe,  and  in  the  opinion  of  many  well 
informed  in  the  premises,  would  have  been  declared  elected 
at  least  on  one  of  those  occasions,  if  the  votes  had  been  fairly 
canvassed.  He  was,  however,  declared  defeated. 

Severe  illness,  which  at  one  time  threatened  to  terminate 
his  life,  kept  the  Senator  out  of  the  Senate  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  last  session  of  that  body.  This  year,  however,  he  has 


92  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

enjoyed  vigorous  health,  and  has  been  able  to  attend  to  his 
duties  without  interruption. 

Senator  MOORE'S  seat  was  contested  by  WALTER  S. 
PINKNEY,  his  Eepublican  competitor  in  the  Senatorial  can- 
vass. The  petition  of  Mr.  PINCKNEY  claiming  the  seat,  and 
Mr.  MOORE'S  answer  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Privileges  and  Election  of  the  Senate,  who  made  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  case.  On  the  12th  of  February,  1875, 
they  reported  that  having  taken  the  proofs  and  heard  argu- 
ments of  counsel  on  both  sides  fully  and  carefully,  they 
unanimously  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Mr.  PINCKNEY 
was  not,  and  that  Mr.  MOORE  was  elected  Senator.  In  course 
of  their  report  the  committee  took  occasion  to  express  them- 
selves as  follows :  Inasmuch  as  it  has  been  alleged  and  some 
evidence  has  been  given  tending  to  show  irregularities  at 
some  of  the  polling  places  in  that  district  at  such  election, 
your  committee  deem  it  but  just  to  Mr.  MOORE,  who  repre- 
sents that  district  in  the  Senate,  to  add  that  during  the  in- 
vestigation, which  was  full  and  thorough,  nothing  appeared 
to  cast  any  reflection  or  imputation  upon  him  of  any  act  of 
impropriety  on  his  part ;  and  your  committee  by  their  exami- 
nation of  the  matter  are  satisfied  that  he  is  no  manner 
caused,  consented  to  or  countenanced  any  improper  action 
or  irregularities  at  such  election,  and  they  can  say  no  less  in 
behalf  of  Mr.  PINCZNEY. 

Senator  MOORE  is  a  member  of  the  following  standing 
committees  of  the  Senate:  Commerce  and  Navigation, 
Poor  Laws,  and  Retrenchment. 

•He  was  married  in  May  1868  to  Miss  ANNA  L.  McG-uiRE, 
and  attends  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 


R os WELL  A.  PARMENTER.  93 


ROSWELL  A.  PARMENTER. 


The  twelfth  Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the  counties 
of  Eensselaer  and  Washington,  is  represented  by  ROSWELL 
A.  PARMENTER. 

Mr.  PARMENTER  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Dr.  AZEL  F. 
PARMENTER,  was  born  in  Pittstown,  Eensselaer  county,  is 
now  about  forty-five  years  of  age,  and  in  the  full  strength 
of  useful  manhood.  He  is  emphatically  a  self-made  man, 
and  never  received  a  dollar  that  was  not  earned  by  hard 
labor.  In  boyhood  he  worked  upon  a  farm  for  wages, 
and  in  the  winter  seasons  taught  school  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  his  education ;  and  few  men  have  been  more 
thoroughly  educated  in  the  natural  sciences  and  in  the 
classics  than  he.  Coming  to  Troy  about  the  year  1848,  with 
scarcely  an  acquaintance  in  the  city,  he  soon  made  his  way, 
formed  a  copartnership  with  the  late  Judge  McCoNiHE,  and 
rapidly  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  He  entered 
at  once  on  the  trial  of  his  own  causes,  without  falling  into 
the  common  error  of  young  lawyers,  of  employing  assistant 
counsel,  and  on  appeal  to  the  General  Term  and  Court  of 
Appeals  argued  his  causes  in  those  courts  with  the  first 
lawyers  in  the  State  as  adversaries.  By  such  means  he 
acquired  that  experience  and  thorough  use  of  every  legal 
weapon  that  have  since  made  him  so  distinguished  as  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer  and  advocate. 

In  the  celebrated  case  of  the  Corn  Exchange  Insurance 
Company  against  Babcock,  argued  by  Mr.  PARMENTER  in 
the  Court  of  Appeals,  a  few  years  ago,  that  court  paid  him 
the  high  compliment  of  adopting  his  points  as  the  law  gov- 
erning the  case,  thus  settling  forever  in  this  State  the  long 
agitated  and  vexed  question  as  to  the  legal  liability  of  a 
married  woman  as  indorser  for  her  husband.  Mr.  PARMEN- 


94  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

TER  also  received  a  letter  of  thanks  and  congratulation  from 
many  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  State,  for  his  efforts  in 
procuring  the  satisfactory  settlement  of  that  highly  impor- 
tant and  most  vexatious  question.  Aside  from  his  legal 
ability  and  acquirements,  Mr.  PARMEISTTER  is  a  man  of  exten- 
sive reading  and  information,  of  great  diversity  of  talent, 
with  a  mind  cultivated  by  the  refinements  of  literature,  and 
enlarged  and  matured  by  study  and  reflection.  He  has  fre- 
quently been  invited  to  address  literary  associations,  but  has 
never  accepted  the  invitation  except  upon  two  or  three 
occasions,  the  habits  of  his  mind  being  too  severely  logical 
to  make  that  kind  of  composition  attractive  to  his  tastes. 
Mr.  PARMENTER  has  often  been  designated  by  the  Democratic 
State  Central  Committee  as  one  of  the  public  speakers,  and 
in  that  capacity  has  on  many  occasions  addressed  the  people 
upon  the  political  issues  of  the  day,  at  their  mass  meetings 
in  different  parts  of  the  State ;  and  last  fall,  at  the  request  of 
the  Liberal  Republican  State  Central  Committee,  he  devoted 
two  or  three  weeks  to  the  same  object.  And  when  the 
South  raised  its  parricidal  hand  against  the  life  of  the  nation, 
Mr.  PARMENTER  did  not  hesitate  as  to  his  course,  nor  stand 
idly  by.  He  subscribed  largely  to  aid  the  raising  of  recruits 
for  the  Federal  army,  and  to  the  Soldiers'  Belief  Fund.  Nor 
did  his  assistance  stop  here  ;  he  traveled  over  the  State, 
making  war  speeches  at  many  of  the  large  meetings  held  for 
the  purpose  of  encouraging  enlistments;  and  his  lengthy 
and  telling  speech  at  the  immense  war  meeting  in  Seminary 
Park,  in  Troy,  during  a  dark  period  in  our  national  affairs, 
is  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  those  who  heard  it. 

As  a  political  speaker  Mr.  PARMENTER  is  earnest,  forcible 
and  entertaining.  Full  of  ideas  and  anecdote,  clear  and 
logical  in  argument,  quick  to  catch  the  humor  of  the  crowd 
and  turn  it  to  advantage,  fluent  and  apt  at  illustration,  he 
never  fails  to  hold  his  audience.  Besides,  as  we  have  said,  he 
is  an  unflagging  worker.  The  amount  of  professional  toil  that 
he  has  performed  within  the  last  twenty  years  bears  witness  to 


BENJAMIN  RAY.  95 

this  fact.  As  no  member  of  the  Troy  bar  has  a  larger  or 
more  important  practice,  so  none  devotes  more  hours  to  the 
stern  demands  of  his  profession.  Mr.  PARMENTER  is  now 
City  Attorney  of  that  city.  When  appointed  to  that  respon- 
sible office,  in  the  spring  of  1871,  he  found  a  vast  number 
of  important  suits  pending  against  the  city,  some  of  which 
had  been  upon  the  calendar  for  years,  involving  in  the  aggre- 
gate about  $50,000.  With  his  usual  zeal  and  energy  he  set 
about  the  herculean  task  of  freeing  the  city  from  this  enor- 
mous load  of  litigation,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  in  two 
years  he  had  disposed  of  forty  cases,  two  of  which  had  each 
occupied  over  thirty  days  in  preparation,  in  taking  evidence 
and  in  summing  up.  For  these  successful  and  arduous  official 
duties  he  received  the  public  acknowledgments  of  Mayor 
Kemp,  a  political  opponent,  and  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks 
from  the  common  council. 

Mr.  PARMENTER  was  elected  to  the  Senate  after  an  exciting 
and  closely  contested  canvass,  beating  his  opponent,  Hon. 
I.  V.  BAKER,  Jr.,  who  was  chosen  to  the  last  Senate  by  a 
majority  of  4,458,  by  828.  He  is  a  member  of  the  committees 
on  Canals,  Literature,  and  Engrossed  Bills. 


BENJAMIN  RAY. 


The  eleventh  Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the  counties 
of  Columbia  and  Dutchess,  is  represented  by  BENJAMIN 
EAT,  of  Hudson,  who  is  well  known  in  the  eastern  section 
of  the  State  as  a  sound  and  trustworthy  member  of  the 
Democracy.  His  father,  Captain  SAMUEL  RAY,  was  a  native 
of  Dutchess  county,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
a  prominent  man  of  his  time.  BENJAMIN  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Hudson  in  1819,  and  descended  from  Scotch-Irish 
stock.  In  early  life  he  commenced  boating  on  the  river,  and 
followed  this  until  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he 


96  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

apprenticed  himself  to  a  blacksmith  in  New  York  city.  It  was 
here  that  he  first  realized  the  importance^  gaining  an  educa- 
tion, and  accordingly  he  devoted  himself  to  its  acquisition  with 
all  his  youthful  ardor,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  that  general 
information  on  important  topics,  which  has  so  well  qualified 
him  for  the  prominent  positions  he  has  since  filled.  During 
the  winter  months  he  attended  select  schools,  paying  for  his 
tuition  from  his  scanty  earnings,  and  passed  his  evenings  in 
hard  study  in  his  room,  the  small  hours  of  morning  frequently 
finding  him  poring  over  his  books,  or  elucidating  some  difficult 
problem.  His  general  reading  was  confined  to  works  treating 
of  the  lives  of  public  men,  and  the  theories  of  government. 
Thus  the  future  legislator  passed  the  weary  years  of  his 
apprenticeship,  and  soon  after  he  reached  his  majority  he 
entered  the  establishment  of  E.  L.  STEVENS,  the  celebrated 
boiler  and  boat  builder.  While  employed  here,  Mr.  RAY 
superintended  the  construction  of  the  largest  iron  steamship 
that  had  been  built  at  that  time,  and  won  considerable  fame 
by  his  achievement. 

In  the  fall  of  1849,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  "gold 
fever,"  Mr.  EAT  went  to  California,  where  he  remained  for 
four  years.  San  Francisco  was  then  a  place  of  lawlessness 
and  disorder,  and  the  lives  and  property  of  the  citizens  were 
at  the  mercy  of  the  mob.  Mr.  RAY  was  appointed  the  first 
Chief  of  Police,  and  organized  the  first  police  force  and  the 
first  fire  department  in  the  "City  of  the  Pacific,"  and  so 
thoroughly  did  he  perform  his  work,  that  both  departments 
are  still  conducted  upon  the  admirable  system  he  adopted.  It 
was  an  arduous  task  to  subdue  the  army  of  roughs  from  all 
quarters  of  the  globe  that  then  infested  the  new  settlement, 
but  Mr.  RAY  proved  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  soon  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  order  out  of  confusion  and  compelling  a 
due  obedience  to  the  laws.  While  in  the  performance  of 
these  duties,  he  was  seriously  injured  by  the  infuriated  mob, 
and  for  some  time  his  life  was  despaired  of. 

He  was  subsequently  appointed  to  the  office  of  Inspector 


BENJAMIN  RAY.  97 

of  Steam  Vessels  for  the  Territory  of  California,  and  so  well 
did  he  perform  his  duties,  that  after  it  was  admitted  as  a 
State,  he  was  tendered  the  same  position  by  the  general 
government,  under  President  TAYLOR'S  administration,  al- 
though a  prominent  and  active  Democrat.  Business  calling 
him  to  the  Atlantic  States,  he  declined  the  place. 

In  1853,  Mr.  RAY  returned  to  New  York  city,  where  he 
held  various  offices  of  public  trust,  among  others,  that  of 
official  appraiser  for  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  hav- 
ing in  charge  the  adjustment  and  appraisement  of  estates  of 
deceased  persons,  many  of  them  of  vast  amounts  and  in- 
volving great  responsibilities ;  but  in  the  settlement  of  these 
large  and  in  some  cases  complicated  interests,  not  a  dollar 
was  ever  misapplied  or  lost,  and  no  difficulty  ever  arose 
between  the  appraiser  and  the  executors. 

In  1855,  Mr.  RAY  was  elected  to  the  State  Assembly  from 
the  Second  district  of  New  York  city,  and  served  his  term 
with  conceded  ability.  His  constituents  would  gladly  have  re- 
turned him  for  many  successive  years,  but  important  business 
interests  at  that  time  prevented  him  from  accepting  the 
honors. 

A  few  years  ago  he  resumed  his  residence  in  Hudson,  and 
in  1870  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  from  this  district,  and  so 
faithfully  did  he  serve  his  constituents  that  he  was  re-elected 
in  1871  and  1872. 

Having  proved  capable  and  faithful  in  the  performance  of 
the  public  trusts  already  imposed  upon  him,  an  appreciative 
people  selected  him  for  still  higher  honors  and  more 
important  trusts,  and  hence  his  election  to  the  Senate.  He 
ran  against  JOHIT  C.  HOGEBOOM  and  was  chosen  by  a  ma- 
jority of  1,945.  In  1871,  the  Republican  majority  of  A.  W- 
PALMER,  his  predecessor  in  the  Senate,  was  8,572.  Mr. 
RAY'S  voice  is  not  often  heard  in  debate,  but  he  is  capable 
of  making  a  speech  when  he  elects  so  to  do.  He  is  thorough- 
ly informed  on  all  the  details  of  legislation. 
13 


98  LIVE  SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM  H.  ROBERTSON. 


The  ninth  Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the  counties 
of  Putnam,  Rockland  and  Westchester,  is  represented  by 
WILLIAM  H.  ROBERTSON,  of  Katonah,  Westchester  county, 
one  of  the  most  able  and  dignified  members  of  the  present 
Senate,  and  its  President  pro  tern.  He  was  born  at  Bedford, 
in  the  county  in  which  he  now  resides,  October  10, 1823.  His 
father,  HENRY  ROBERTSON,  who  was  born  in  1791,  at  Bed- 
ford, is  still  living.  After  pursuing  his  preliminary  studies 
at  Union  Academy,  Bedford,  he  read  law,  and  in  1847  was 
admitted  to  the  bar. 

The  Senator  has  had  a  long  and  honorable  career  as  a 
public  man.  The  confidence  so  often  reposed  in  him  by  the 
people  has  never  been  violated ;  the  interests  committed  to 
his  hands  never  neglected.  Beginning  as  Town  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Bedford  Common  Schools,  he  subsequently 
served  for  four  years  as  Supervisor  and  on  two  occasions  was 
Chairman  of  the  Board  —  the  only  Republican  who  ever  held 
that  position.  Rising  rapidly  in  his  profession,  he  was  early 
elected  County  Judge  of  Westchester,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  for  three  terms,  twelve  years. 

His  experience  as  a  legislator  has  been  long  and  raried. 
He  represented  Westchester  county  in  the  Assembly,  in 
1849  and  1850;  and  the  ninth  Senatorial  district  in  the 
Senate  of  1854-55.  Later  he  was  a  representative  in  the 
fortieth  Congress.  In  politics  Mr.  ROBERTSON  is  a  represen- 
tative Republican,  and  has  long  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  organization  of  his  choice.  Until  the  year  1855  he 
was  a  Whig,  and  since  that  date  has  given  his  vote  and 
influence  to  the  party  to  which  he  now  belongs.  For  three 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  State  Committee, 


WILLIAM  H.  ROBERTSON.  99 

and  in  1864  attended  the  Eepublican  National  Convention  as 
a  delegate.  He  has  also  on  many  occasions  attended  the 
Whig  and  Republican  State  Conventions  as  delegate. 

The  Senator  did  efficient  service  during  the  late  war.  He 
was  Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee  appointed  by 
Governor  MOKGAN",  in  1862,  to  raise  and  organize  State 
troops  in  the  eighth  Senatorial  district.  Later  on  he  filled 
the  important  position  of  Commissioner  to  superintend  the 
draft'  in  Westchester  county,  under  an  appointment  of  the 
Governor.  For  six  years  he  was  Brigade  Inspector  of  the 
Seventh  Brigade,  New  York  State  National  Guard. 

He  was  elected  to  the  last  Senate  by  a  most  nattering  vote. 
Running  in  a  strong  Democratic  district,  his  defeat  would 
have  been  a  matter  of  course,  had  he  not  been  conspicuous 
for  his  great  ability,  and  as  popular  as  he  was  worthy.  As  it 
was,  he  received  a  handsome  majority  in  every  town  of  West- 
Chester,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  Rockland  and  Putnam 
counties  as  well  —  his  total  majority  being  5,851  over  WILLIAM 
CAULDWELL,  who  had  been  chosen  to  the  preceding  Senate 
by  a  majority  of  2,274. 

In  the  fall  of  1872  the  Senator's  name  was  among  the  fore- 
most of  those  presented  at  the  Utica  Republican  Convention 
for  the  office  of  Governor.  As  soon,  however,  as  it  was 
found  that  General  Dix  would  accept  the  nomination,  it  was 
withdrawn  in  the  interests  of  harmony. 

The  Senator  was  elected  to  the  present  Senate  by  a  majority 
of  2,364  —  figures  that  indicate  great  personal  popularity  in 
a  district  giving  a  large  Democratic  majority  on  the  State 
ticket.  The  New  York  Commercial,  in  commenting  upon 
his  election,  justly  observed:  "There  must  be  some  thing 
most  extraordinary  in  a  man's  character,  who  can  break 
down  a  Democratic  majority  of  two  or  three  thousand  in  his 
district  on  every  occasion  he  is  made  a  candidate,  and  carry 
it  in  his  favor  by  the  same  majority."  Senator  ROBEETSOK 
was  chosen  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate  by  a  unanimous 
vote.  Senator  WOODIN,  who  held  the  position  in  the  last 


100  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Senate,  moved  the  nomination  in  caucus  and  the  resolution 
of  election,  and  it  had  the  cordial  approval  of  every  Bepub- 
lican  Senator.  The  concurrence  of  the  Democratic  Senators 
was  a  handsome  personal  tribute  and  a  graceful  testimony  to 
the  esteem  in  which  Senator  KOBERTSOJS"  is  held.  He  has 
had  long  experience  in  parliamentary  practice,  and  makes  an 
admirable  presiding  officer. 

Senator  KOBERTSON  has  rendered  the  State  signal  service 
this  year  as  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  lie  has 
proved  himself  an  unrelenting  foe  of  hasty  and  improvident 
legislation,  and  has  strangled  many  a  measure  which,  but  for 
his  challenge,  might  have  succeeded  in  getting  upon  the 
statute  book. 


JOHN  H.  SELKREG. 


Mr.  SELKKEG  has  been  a  practical  printer,  and,  conse- 
quently, has  had  all  the  varieties  of  experience  and  change 
appertaining  to  that  occupation.  He  is  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  Ithaca  Journal,  a  paper  which  has  effectively  aided  in 
the  achievement  of  many  a  hard-fought  battle.  He  has 
published  the  Journal  since  1841. 

He  was  born  in  Staatsburgh,  Dutchess  county,  in  1817. 
His  parents  died  when  he  was  a  mere  boy  (the  youngest  of  a 
family  of  five  children),  and  left  him  to  the  care  of  the  older 
members  of  the  family.  He  never  attended  school  after  he 
was  eleven  years  old,  and  what  little  education  he  had  gained 
up  to  that  time  had  been  acquired  in  the  district  school  at 
Staatsburgh.  His  disposition,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  rather 
inclined  to  printing  as  an  occupation ;  therefore,  having  left 
his  brother-in-law,  with  whom  he  had  been  living,  he  began 
an  apprenticeship  in  the  printing  office  of  the  Poughkeepsie 
Telegraph,  then  published  by  Messrs.  KILLEY  &  Low,  and 
which  was  at  that  time  the  Democratic  organ  of  Dutchess 


JOHN  H.  SELKREG.  101 

county.  He  continued  there  until  the  year  1838.  Having 
arrived  at  that  point  where  he  thought  himself  sufficiently 
proficient  to  commence  life  on  his  own  responsibility,  he 
became  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  and,  there  entered  into  a 
partnership  with  the  firm  of  Messrs.  ARNOLD,  VAN  ANDEN 
&  Co.,  publishers  of  the  Brooklyn  Eagle.  Not  being  entirely 
satisfied  with  his  business  relations,  he  returned  to  Pough- 
keepsie  in  1839,  and  published  the  Poughkeepksie  Casket,  a 
literary  paper. 

Two  years  subsequently,  he  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
Ithaca  Journal,  and,  in  connection  with  Hon.  A.  WELLS, 
continued  its  publication  for  several  years.  He  afterward 
became  sole  proprietor  of  the  establishment. 

The  Ithaca  Journal  was  once  a  Democratic  organ  of  Tomp- 
kins  county.  In  1848,  Mr.  SELKKEG  refused  to  support  Mr. 
CASS,  and  ran  up  Mr.  VAN  BUREN'S  name.  The  HUNKERS 
established  the  Flag  of  the  Union  to  break  down  the 
Journal;  but,  not  succeeding  in  the  attempt,  the  "  Flag"  was 
lowered,  and  the  Journal  still  continued  to  be  the  exponent 
of  the  Democracy.  From  the  year  1850  to  1856,  Mr.  SELK- 
REG saw  that  a  great  change  was  being  "wrought  in  the 
Democratic  party.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise 
seemed  to  him  an  outrage  upon  political  honor.  Such  was 
the  drift  of  affairs,  he  refused  to  support  BUCHANAN,  and 
advocated  the  claims  of  FREMONT,  thus  undoubtedly  carry- 
ing over  the  county  to  the  "  Path  Finder,"  inasmuch  as  the 
Republican  vote  ran  up,  in  a  single  year,  from  1,460  to  4,030. 

From  1857  to  1861,  he  discharged  the  duties  of  Commis- 
sioner of  Loans.  President  LINCOLN  made  him  Postmaster 
of  Ithaca  in  1861.  He  was  re-appointed,  in  1865,  by  ANDREW 
JOHNSON,  who,  in  the  most  nonchalant  manner,  subjected 
him  to  the  guillotine  on  the  25th  of  August,  1866,  for  refus- 
ing to  adopt  Mr.  JOHNSON'S  peculiar  views.  Mr.  SELKREG 
survived  the  shock,  and,  under  the  warm  pressure  of  his 
friends,  accepted  the  nomination  for  Member  of  Assembly, 
being  elected  by  a  majority  of  1,472.  Having  once  got  him 


102  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

in  the  Assembly,  his  constituents,  finding  him  to  be  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place,  kept  him  there  for  five  successive 
years.  He  was  a  Member  of  the  lower  House  in  1867,  1868, 
1869,  1870  and  1871.  During  the  session  of  1869,  he  was 
Chairman  of  "Ways  and  Means,  and,  during  all  the  years 
mentioned,  was  a  member  of  that  leading  committee. 

Mr.  SELKREG  has  held  several  offices  of  business  interest. 
At  one  time,  he  was  President  of  the  Ithaca  and  Bingham- 
ton  Telegraph  Company,  and,  later,  has  been  President  of 
the  Ithaca  Calendar  Clock  Company. 

Mr.  SELKREG  was  elected  to  his  present  position  by  a 
majority  of  1,442  over  GEORGE  W.  SCHUYLER.  He  heads 
two  of  the  most  important  committees  of  the  Senate  —  Kail- 
roads  and  Public  Printing.  Thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
varied  interests  and  public  policy  of  the  State,  Senator  SELK- 
REG is  a  most  useful  and  influential  legislator. 


JAMES  G.  THOMPSON. 


The  twenty-third  Senatorial  district,  which  is  composed 
of  the  counties  of  Chenango,  Delaware  and  Schoharie,  is 
represented  by  JAMES  G-.  THOMPSON",  of  Norwich,  Chenango 
county.  Mr.  THOMPSON"  was  born  at  Sharon,  Schoharie 
county,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1829.  His  father,  Dr. 
THOMPSON,  was  born  and  resided  at  Duanesburgh,  Schenec- 
tady  county.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  PETER  B. 
GUERNSEY,  of  Norwich.  Both  his  parents  are  now  deau. 
In  1857  he  married  JULIA  FRANCES  FOOTE,  daughter  of  Dr. 
LYMAN"  FOOTE,  of  Syracuse.  After  finishing  his  rudi- 
mental  studies,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  entered  the 
Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute,  at  Troy,  with  the  design  of 
fitting  himself  for  the  profession  of  Civil  Engineering.  This 
design  he  abandoned,  however,  after  his  graduation,  and 


JAMES  G.  THOMPSON.  103 

after  spending  some  time  in  teaching  he  embarked  in  the 
book  and  stationery  business,  which  he  has  since  made  his 
leading  support. 

Mr.  THOMPSON'S  standing  among  those  who  have  the  best 
opportunity  for  forming  a  correct  judgment  is  shown  in  the 
positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  which  he  has  been 
called  upon  to  fill.  For  five  terms,  extending  orer  a  period 
of  fifteen  years,  he  was  County  Clerk  of  Chenango  county. 
He  has  also  served  the  county  one  term  as  County  Treasurer, 
and  two  terms  as  Superintendent  of  Schools.  At  the  present 
time  he  is  Supervisor  of  his  town. 

The  convention  that  nominated  Mr.  THOMPSON  for  Senator 
was  one  of  the  most  "  complex "  organizations  ever  assem- 
bled in  the  district.  Schoharie,  Delaware  and  Chenango 
each  had  a  candidate,  and  each  felt  inclined  to  fight  the 
thing  out  if  it  took  innumerable  ballotings.  Mr.  THOMPSON 
was  not  originally  a  candidate  for  the  position  which  was  so 
hotly  contested,  and  the  state  of  his  health  forbade  him 
taking  a  very  active  part  in  the  canvass.  The  preliminary 
contest  was  long  and  spirited,  but  at  length  on  the  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-third  ballot  Mr.  THOMPSON  was  nominated. 
Hon.  JAMES  H.  GKAHAM,  Hon.  J.  H.  EAMSET,  .Captain 
CHAELES  C.  KEOMEK,  and  other  prominent  gentlemen,  had 
their  warm  friends  and  supporters,  but  it  was  finally  thought 
best  to  unite  on  a  gentleman  who  has  been  called  "  the  most 
popular  man  in  Chenango."  At  the  desire  of  the  Schoharie 
delegation,  that  Delaware  should  agree  with  Chenango  in  the 
choice  of  a  candidate,  Mr.  THOMPSON  was  finally  nominated 
and  nominated  unanimously.  Commenting  on  the  nomina- 
tion, the  Oneonta  Herald  said : 

"  We  suppose  there  is  not  a  man  in  Chenango  county  who 
can  poll  a  larger  vote  than  Mr.  THOMPSON.  Five  times  he 
has  been  elected  Clerk  of  the  County,  always  running  ahead 
of  the  ticket.  He  has  served  as  County  Treasurer,  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools,  and  is  the  present  Supervisor  of  Norwich. 
He  is  of  Schoharie  birth,  and  the  Eepublicans  of  that 
county  ought  to  congratulate  themselves  that  they  have  a 


104  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

candidate  of  such  eminent  fitness.  As  a  Senator,  Mr. 
THOMPSON  will  have  few  superiors  ;  for  he  is  a  gentleman  of 
education,  extensive  information,  and  practical  common 
sense.  He  will  talk  enough  and  not  too  much,  and  work 
with  satisfactory  results  every  time.  It  is  an  honor  to  the 
district  to  have  so  able  and  honest  a  Senator." 

The  figures  of  Mr.  THOMPSON'S  election  are  eloquent  with 
the  lesson  of  the  necessity  of  getting  out  all  the  voters  on 
election  day,  and  speak  forcibly  of  the  importance  sometimes 
of  a  single  vote.  Mr.  THOMPSON  beat  his  competitor,  Mr. 
YEOMANS,  by  one  vote !  Mr.  YEOMANS  is  now  engaged  in 
contesting  the  seat  before  the  Committee  on  Privileges  and 
Elections  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  THOMPSON  is  in  the  prime  of  life,  possesses  unusual 
aptness  for  the  intelligent  discharge  of  public  business,  and 
devotes  himself  with  zeal  and  earnestness  to  his  Senatorial 
duties.  He  is  Chairman  of  two  Committees,  Internal 
Affairs  of  Towns  and  Counties  and  Poor  Laws,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  committees  on  Militia  and  Literature. 


FRANKLIN  W.  TOBEY. 


The  sixteenth  Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the 
counties  of  Warren,  Essex  and  Clinton,  is  represented  by 
FRANKLIN  W.  TOBEY,  of  Port  Henry,  Essex  county.  Mr. 
TOBEY  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest  member 
of  the  Senate ;  he  is  now  in  his  thirtieth  year.  He  received 
no  educational  advantages  in  his  boyhood,  except  those 
offered  by  the  common  schools.  His  father,  ISAAC  TOBEY, 
was,  and  is  still,  a  plain  Essex  county  farmer,  and  young 
TOBEY  was  trained  to  hard  labor  on  the  paternal  acres.  But 
he  made  diligent  use  of  opportunities  within  reach,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  acquiring  knowledge  to  such  a  degree,  that  before 
he  reached  his  majority  he  was  permitted  to  study  law  in  the 


FRANKLIN  W.  TOBEY.  105 

office  of  Judge  AUGUSTUS  C.  HAND.  He  made  good  pro- 
gress, and  in  1868  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  has  since 
been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in  the  firm  of 
WALDO,  TOBEY  &  BECKWITH,  at  Port  Henry.  Several  years 
ago  he  married  the  daughter  of  Eev.  C.  RANSOM,  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman,  now  Chaplain  of  Clinton  State  Prison. 
Mr.  TOBEY'S  political  life  does  not  extend  very  far  into  the 
past,  but  it  has  been  remarkably  successful.  Always  a  Re- 
publican,  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  local  politics  since 
his  eighteenth  year.  In  1869  he  was  elected  Supervisor,  and 
on  his  being  re-elected  in  1870,  was  made  Chairman  of  the 
Board.  In  the  fall  of  1871  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly 
by  a  majority  of  1,406,  and  re-elected  in  1872  by  1,981 
majority. 

His  services  during  the  session  of  1872  are  so  well-known, 
that  it  seems  almost  needless  to  refer  to  them.  On  making 
his  first  appearance  at  Albany  he  was  regarded  as  a  beardless 
youth  of  no  great  account,  but  he  soon  showed  his  mettle. 
Speaker  SMITH  knew  something  about  him,  and  assigned  him 
the  second  place  on  the  Insurance  Committee,  and  also  made 
him  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  which,  as  the 
event  proved,  were  the  two  most  important  Committees  of 
that  Assembly.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  TOBEY  to  act  as 
Chairman  of  the  Sub-committee  which  conducted  the  long 
and  arduous  investigation  into  the  official  conduct  of  the 
then  Superintendent  of  the  Insurance  Department.  Weeks 
were  occupied  in  the  examination  of  witnesses,  and  the  tes- 
timony taken  constituted  one  of  the  most  bulky  documents 
of  the  session.  Much  of  the  examination  was  conducted  by 
Mr.  TOBEY  in  person,  and  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  he 
efficiently  discharged  the  difficult  and  delicate  task  devolving 
upon  him.  The  result  of  that  investigation  is  now  a  matter 
of  history ;  but  the  unanimity  with  which  the  Republican 
majority  of  the  Assembly  promptly  indorsed  the  conclusions 
of  the  Committee,  was  a  marked  compliment,  not  only  to 
Mr.  TOBEY,  but  to  every  member  of  the  Committee  signing 
14 


106  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

the  report.  As  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  it 
was  Mr.  TOBEY'S  privilege  to  play  a  prominent  part  in  what 
was  pre-eminently  the  distinguishing  achievement  of  the 
Legislature  of  1872,  namely,  the  impeachment,  trial  and  ex- 
pulsion of  the  corrupt  New  York  judges.  The  offenses  of 
these  men  had  long  been  a  stench"  in  the  people's  nostrils, 
and  it  was  peculiarly  the  province  of  a  "reform"  Legislature 
to  bring  about  a  needed  change  for  the  better  in  the  judiciary. 
If  the  Legislature  of  1872  had  accomplished  no  other  act 
worthy  of  commendation,  the  fact  that  it  did  effect  this  re- 
form should  entitle  it  to  the  gratitude  of  the  long-suffering 
people  of  the  State.  When  the  charges  had  been  made 
against  Judges  BARNAED,  CAEDOZO  and  McCuNsr,  it  de- 
volved upon  the  Judiciary  Committee  to  investigate  them, 
and  to  prepare  articles  of  impeachment  in  case  they  were  well 
founded.  The  committee -entered  upon  its  work  with  alacrity, 
and  prosecuted  it  with  thoroughness.  They  proceeded  to 
New  York,  where  they  took  a  great  mass  of  evidence,  and, 
except  on  one  or  two  minor  points,  were  unanimous  in 
recommending  the  impeachment  of  the  judges  for  mal  and 
corrupt  conduct.  The  impeachment  articles  were  prepared 
and  adopted  by  the  Assembly,  and  the  result  of  the  protracted 
trial,  which  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1872,  is  familiar  to 
every  one.  In  all  these  proceedings  Mr.  TOBEY  bore  a  con- 
spicuous and  honorable  part,  and  won  a  reputation  which  few 
realize  who  spend  long  years  in  public  service.  Of  course, 
with  such  a  record  as  the  result  of  a  single  session,  his  con- 
stituents had  no  choice  but  to  return  him  by  a  largely  in- 
creased majority,  and  they  did  so.  In  the  Assembly  of  last 
year  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Committees  on  Insurance  and 
Eules,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee. 
When  it  became  evident  that  Mr.  AMES,  who  represented  the 
Sixteenth  district  in  the  last  Senate,  would  be  compelled  to 
decline  a  re-election,  on  account  of  ill-health,  Mr.  TOBEY'S 
name  became  at  once  prominent  as  his  successor.  His  nomi- 
nation was  received  with  words  of  hearty  approval  by  the 


WEBSTER  WAGNER.  10? 

press  in  different  parts  of  the  State.  The  New  York  Times 
said,  "  Mr.  TOBEY  has  experience  in  legislation,  and  in  his 
two  terms  of  service  in  the  Assembly  has  won  an  enviable 
reputation  for  unwavering  integrity,  great  watchfulness,  and 
shrewd  activity.  No  man  ever  thought  of  offering  Mr.  TOBEY 
a  bribe,  no  matter  how  speciously  the  bait  was  gilded."  Mr. 
TOBEY  occupies  the  important  and  responsible  position  of 
Chairman  of  the  Insurance  Committee,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Judiciary,  Eailroads,  and  Privileges  and  Elections. 


WEBSTER  WAGNER. 


WEBSTER  WAGNER,  to  whom,  in  the  present  Senate,  the 
interests  of  the  fifteenth  Senatorial  district  are  committed, 
is  descended  from  German  parents,  and  was  born  at  Pala- 
tine Bridge,  Montgomery  county,  this  State,  where  he  still 
resides,  in  the  year  1817.  After  receiving  a  common  school 
education,  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  brother  JAMES  to  learn 
the  trade  of  wagon  and  carriage  building.  His  apprentice- 
ship ended,  and  a  good  knowledge  of  the  business  acquired, 
he  continued  to  devote  himself  to  wagon  and  carriage  making 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  1845  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  station  agent  at  Palatine  Bridge  for  the  Utica  and 
Schenectady  Eailroad,  a  position  which  he  occupied  until  the 
year  1860. 

While  acting  as  station  agent,  and  watching  the  trains 
coming  and  going,  he  proposed  to  himself  a  problem,  the 
successful  solution  of  which  has  done  so  much  for  the  com- 
fort of  the  traveling  public,  and  made  the  name  of  WEBSTER 
WAGNER  well  known  all  over  the  country.  The  Senator 
would,  doubtless,  shrink  from  being  designated  by  that  much 
abused  term  "  philanthropist,"  and  yet  if  love  for  one's  fellow 
men  is  to  be  inferred  from  benefits  conferred  on  them,  it  is 


108  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

difficult  to  see  why  he  should  not  in  all  justice  be  named  a 
philanthropist  in  virtue  of  his  Wagner  Palace  Cars. 

With  the  appearance  of  the  sleeping  and  drawing-room 
car  as  part  of  the  regular  railway  train,  the  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  travel  was  increased  a  hundred  fold.  Looking 
back  a  few  years  to  the  order  of  things  that  then  prevailed, 
we  wonder  how  it  was  that  we  ever  rested  content  with  the 
old  time  unsightly  and  uncomfortable  cars.  In  virtue  of  the 
improvements,  of  which  Mr.  WAGNER  was  one  of  the 
pioneers,  the  terror  of  railroad  traveling  has  been  removed, 
and  now,  seated  in  a  drawing-room  car,  or  reposing  in  a 
sleeping-car,  one  approximates  very  nearly  to  the  comfort 
and  ease  of  a  well-appointed  home. 

Mr.  WAGNER  was  on0  of  the  original  inventors,  and  the 
first  to  put  in  operation  the  drawing-room  and  sleeping-cars, 
which  have  grown  to  be  a  necessity  with  those  who  travel  by 
rail.  His  long  experience  at  wagon  and  carriage  building 
enabled  him  to  proceed  unerringly  with  his  plans  for  an  easy- 
riding  car,  while  his  taste  and  judgment  suggested  the  proper 
interior  arrangements.  The  result  of  his  labors  in  this  re- 
gard was  first  made  manifest  on  the  1st  of  September,  1858, 
when  he  introduced  the  first  sleeping-car  on  the  Utica  and 
Schenectady  Eailroad.  This  effort  proved  eminently  success- 
ful, and  encouraged  him  to  still  farther  exertions  in  the  same 
direction.  Having  provided  the  means  of  accommodation 
and  comfort  for  those  who  journeyed  by  night,  he  set  himself 
to  work  in  the  interest  of  day  passengers.  Consummate 
skill,  joined  to  great  energy  and  perseverance,  compassed  the 
desired  object,  and  on  the  20th  day  of  August,  1867,  he  pre- 
sented to  an  admiring  and  delighted  public  the  first  drawing- 
room,  car  that  was  ever  built  in  America. 

These  drawing-room  or  palace  cars  have  introduced  an 
entirely  new  element  of  pleasure  into  traveling  in  the  United 
States,  have  indeed  reduced  it  to  a  fine  art.  Taking  one  of 
these  magnificent  conveyances  in  New  York  on  Monday,  a 
pleasure-seeker  can  find  himself  in  San  Francisco  in  a  week, 


WEBSTER  WAGNER.  109 

not  the  least  fatigued  by  travel  or  otherwise,  and  scarcely 
less  fresh  than  when  he  popped  his  head  out  at  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Creek. 

The  first  sleeping-car  that  was  ever  built  in  America  and 
used  by  Mr.  WAGNER,  cost  but  $3,000,  whereas  those  used 
now-a-days  cost  $16,000  to  $20,000  each,  the  difference  in  the 
figures  representing  the  progress  made  in  railway  comfort 
and  accommodation  since  1857.  Mr.  WAGNER  has  now 
forty-nine  drawing-room  cars  in  active  use,  each  of  which 
cost  near  upon  $14,000. 

The  WAGNER  Sleeping  Car  Company  are  now  running 
sixty  sleeping  cars,  which  cost  three-quarters  of  a  million 
dollars. 

Senator  WAGNER'S  legislative  career  commenced  in  1871, 
when  he  was  sent  to  the  Assembly  from  Montgomery  county. 
Running  with  the  odds  against  him,  he  was  elected  by  a 
handsome  majority,  his  vote  being  much  ahead  of  that  given 
to  the  general  Republican  ticket.  He  served  on  the  com- 
mittee on  Banks,  and  made  a  record  as  a  legislator  so  satis- 
factory to  his  constituents,  that  in  the  Senatorial  Convention 
of  1871,  he  was  unanimously  nominated  to  represent  the 
Fifteenth  district.  Two  years  previous,  the  Fifteenth  district 
had  been  lost  to  the  Republicans  by  an  unfortunate  division 
among  themselves,  and  the  selection  of  Mr.  WAGNER,  who 
was  not  a  politician,  and  represented  neither  faction,  was 
considered  a  guarantee  that  the  Democratic  majority  in  1869, 
of  2,003,  was  to  be  overcome.  And  overcome  it  was.  Mr. 
WAGNER  was  elected  over  ISAIAH  FULLER,  his  Democratic 
opponent,  by  the  rousing  majority  of  3,222. 

So  well  satisfied  were  the  people  of  his  district  with  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  looked  after  their  interests  and  the 
interests  of  the  State,  that  he  was  renominated  by  the  Re- 
'publicans,  by  acclamation.  The  sentiment  was  universal 
that  his  election  was  due  equally  to  him  and  the  district. 
Indeed,  the  Democracy,  at  their  convention,  called  to  nomi- 
nate a  Senator,  resolved  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  nominate 


110  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

a  candidate  against  him,  and  accordingly  he  was  elected, 
without  opposition. 

Mr.  WAGNER  makes  a  faithful  and  good  working  Senator. 
He  is  attentive  to  the  wants  and  interests  of  his  own  con- 
stituents, and  intelligent  and  straightforward  in  his  course 
upon  matters  of  general  legislation.  He  is  direct,  out-spoken 
and  unequivocal  upon  all  subjects,  and  no  one  will  venture 
to  cast  reproach  upon  the  purity  and  integrity  of  his  action. 
You  know  where  to  find  him  every  time.  Without  making 
any  ostentatious  pretentions,  he  has  been  an  efficient  and 
successful  representative.  His  sound  sense  and  practical 
ability  have  given  him  large  influence  among  his  associates. 


ABU  AH  J.  WELLMAN. 


Colonel  ABIJAH  J.  WELLMAN  represents  the  thirtieth 
Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the  counties  of  Wyoming, 
Livingston  and  Allegany.  He  was  born  at  Friendship,  Alle- 
gany  county,  on  the  6th  of  May,  1836.  His  father,  JONAS 
WELLMAST,  was  born  in  Vermont,  and  was  of  English  parent- 
age. He  resided  in  Friendship  for  fifteen  years,  and  for  a 
long  period  prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1844,  was 
an  eminently  successful  and  highly  respected  physician. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  enjoyed,  after  receiving  the  usual 
rudimental  instruction,  an  academic  course,  and  afterward 
entered  the  Oberlin  Ohio  College.  In  1855,  he  entered  into 
mercantile  business,  and  a  few  years  after  took  up  the  bank- 
ing business.  In  1864,  he  started  in  at  lumbering.  At  the 
present  time,  he  has  all  these  irons  in  the  fire,  and  is  suc- 
cessfully managing  them.  Col.  WELLMAN  has  a  war  record 
of  which  he  may  well  be  proud.  In  September,  1861,  he  was 
appointed  Captain  of  the  Eighty-fifth  New  York.  A  few 
months  subsequently,  he  was  promoted  to  be  Major,  and,  on 


ABIJAH  J.  WELLMAN.  Ill 

tlie  8th  of  February,  1862,  was  again  promoted  to  be  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel. He  took  part  in  the  memorable  battle  of 
Fair  Oaks,  and  was  severely  wounded  on  the  31st  of  May, 
1862.  He  also  participated  in  the  battles  of  Goldsboro, 
Kinston  and  Whitehall,  and  remained  in  command  of  his 
regiment  as  long  as  it  was  in  service. 

Col.  WELLMAN  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  politics, 
and  has  been  an  active  Eepublican  since  the  organization  of 
the  party.  For  seven  successive  years,  commencing  in  1866, 
he  was  Supervisor  of  Friendship.  For  three  years  in  succes- 
sion he  was  chosen  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of 
Allegany  county.  In  1872,  he  attended  as  delegate  to  the 
Philadelphia  Convention  that  nominated  Grant  and  Wilson. 

Colonel  WELLMAN"  was  married,  in  September,  1863,  at 
Friendship,  to  KATE,  daughter  of  ASHEB  W.  MIXER,  of  that 
place.  Early  in  life  he  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  and, 
for  the  past  eight  years,  he  has  been  Superintendent  of  a 
nourishing  Sunday-school. 

The  nomination  of  Colonel  WELLMAN  for  the  Senate  was 
received  with  hearty  expressions  of  satisfaction.  The  Roches- 
ter Democrat  and  Chronicle  pronounced  it "  one  in  every  way 
fit  to  be  made."  It  added : 

"  Those  who  served  with  Colonel  WELLMAN"  in  the  army 
speak  of  him  in  the  highest  terms  as  an  officer  and  as  a  man. 
He  was  idolized  by  the  troops.  Colonel  WELLMAN  will  make 
a  Senator  of  the  right  stamp,  and  he  is  sure  to  be  elected  by 
a  large  majority." 

The  Warsaw  New-  Yorker  said : 

"  Col.  WELLMAN",  our  next  Senator,  is  a  man  of  excellent 
ability,  of  culture  and  refinement ;  served  in  the  war  with 
distinction,  winning  in  an  unusual  degree  the  confidence  of 
his  generals  and  the  love  of  his  soldiers;  is  thoroughly 
trusted  and  believed  in  by  all  who  know  him,  irrespective  of 
party  relations,  and,  by  his  high  character  and  proved  ability, 
is  as  well  fitted  to  serve  his  district  acceptably  and  well  in  the 
Senate  as  any  new  man  in  his  county." 


112  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Colonel  WELLMAN  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  3,297  over 
EDWARD  FARNUM.  He  serves  in  the  Senate  on  four  im- 
portant committees.  He  is  very  properly  Chairman  on 
Militia ;  he  is  also  Chairman  of  State  Prisons,  and  a  member 
on  Banks  and  Internal  Affairs  of  Towns  and  Counties. 


DANIEL  P.  WOOD. 


DANIEL  WOOD,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
came,  in  1800,  to  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  from  the  Berk- 
shire Hills.  DANIEL  P.  WOOD  is  of  New  England,  Massa- 
chusetts stock.  And  this  implies  more  than  many  men, 
whose  minds  are  biased  by  religious,  sectional  or  political 
antagonisms,  are  willing  to  admit. 

Massachusetts  is,  in  some  important  respects,  the  inferior 
of  this  our  native  State.  She  has  many  faults  of  history 
and  character.  She  has  given  birth  to  not  a  few  unworthy 
sons  and  daughters.  But,  after  all,  in  spite  of  what  may  be 
truthfully  said  about  the  Puritan  sternness  and  Calvinistic 
bigotry,  the  persecution  of  Baptists  and  Quakers,  the  Cotton 
Mathers  and  Salem  witches  of  the  'past,  or  the  lax  notions 
and  heresies  of  the  present,  spite  of  all  the  business  and 
political  sins  fairly  or  unfairly  laid  at  her  door,  Massa- 
chusetts is  a  commonwealth  eminent  among  her  sisters  for 
the  nobler  qualities.  Considering  her  population,  and  the 
extent  of  her  territory,  her  history  cannot  easily  be  sur- 
passed for  variety  of  excellence.  Her  children  get  from  her  a 
moral  and  intellectual  training,  a  personal  independence  and 
love  of  liberty,  and  a  political  education  which  subordinates 
the  State  to  the  nation,  the  interests  of  the  individual  to  the 
interest  of  the  masses,  which  holds  the  home  prosperity  as 
bound  up  in,  and  inseparable  from,  the  prosperity  of  neigh- 


DANIEL  P.  WOOD.  113 

bors  and  sisters.  Such  sons  of  hers  who  go  wrong  are  unjust 
to  their  mother  and  share  nothing  of  her  spirit. 

Hon.  DANIEL  P.  WOOD  inherited,  and  has  exhibited 
through  life,  the  New  England  traits  —  readiness  to  labor  and 
to  learn,  strength  of  will,  forecast  and  sympathy  with  those 
movements  which  have  for  their  end  the  well-being  of  the 
country  —  for  their  means  to  that  end  the  advancing  condi- 
tion of  all  classes  and  races.  His  father  was  a  lawyer  and 
farmer,  farming  being  his  main  occupation.  Mr.  WOOD 
worked  diligently  on  the  farm  till  he  was  twenty  years 
old,  acquiring  a  vigor  of  constitution  which  has  since 
enabled  him  to  endure  the  severest  mental  labor.  After  a 
preparatory  course  at  Pompey  Hill  Academy,  he  entered 
Hamilton  College.  There  he  not  only  disciplined  his  mind 
by  a  mastering  of  the  class  studies,  but  expanded  it  by  a 
wide  range  of  reading.  He  studied  law  at  Pompey,  with 
VICTOEY  BIRDSEYE,  and  in  1846  commenced  the  practice  of 
law  at  Syracuse.  His  industry  and  skill  were  not  long  in 
securing  him  great  success.  He  was  Corporation  Attorney 
for  three  years,  and  his  general  business  was  so  large,  and 
attended  to  with  such  fidelity,  that  in  1853  his  health 
broke  down,  and  in  the  year  1854,  he  consented  to 
represent  his  district  in  the  Assembly,  in  the  hope  of  benefit 
from  lighter  labors  and  a  change  of  occupation.  But  the 
legislation  of  those  years  was  very  important,  and  Mr.  WOOD 
was  too  earnest  and  active  to  give  the  needed  rest  to  his 
worn-out  frame.  In  1853,  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Salt,  and  was  on  the  Committee  on  Claims  and 
the  Code.  On  this  last  Committee  was  ARPHAXAD  LOOMIS, 
while  DAVID  DUDLEY  FIELD,  another  codifier,  was  often 
present  at  its  sessions.  The  Committee  sat  many  hours 
each  day,  entertaining  the  most  important  discussions,  de- 
manding for  their  proper  handling  severe  thought  and  wide 
knowledge,  Mr.  WOOD  brought  to  them  his  legal  acumen 
and  conscientious  industry. 

In  addition,  the  canal  policy  came  up  for  review  and 
15 


114  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

determination.  The  Legislature  of  this  year  submitted  the 
question  of  debt  for  the  completion  of  the  enlargement  to 
the  people,  and  in  the  long,  exciting  and  able  debates,  Mr. 
WOOD  was  prominent  and  influential.  He  was  one  of  the 
Managers,  on  the  part  of  the  assembly,  of  the  impeachment 
of  Canal  Commissioner  JOHN  C.  MATHER.  To  have  been 
assigned  such  important  posts  by  a  House  politically  opposed 
to  him,  and  during  his  first  year  as  a  legislator,  was  no  light 
tribute  to  his  reputation  and  capacity. 

In  1854,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Colleges, 
Academies,  etc.,  he  matured  and  carried  through  the  act 
creating  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction.  He  was, 
this  year,  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means. 
He  attended  moderately  to  his  profession  during  the  three 
years  immediately  following;  but,  in  1857,  a  hemorrhage 
of  the  throat  or  lungs  brought  him  to  the  borders  of  the 
grave.  Most  men  would  have  given  way,  but  the  will  of  Mr. 
WOOD  triumphed  over  disease,  and  as  soon  as /he  became 
convalescent,  he  started  for  South  Carolina,  returning  thence 
on  horseback. 

In  1864,  '65,  '66,  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly,  as  Repre- 
sentative from  the  Second  district  of  Onondaga  county.  In 
1865  and  1866  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Canals, 
a  position  requiring  almost  ceaseless  labor.  He  understood 
the  canals,  and  defended  their  interests  with  honor  to  him- 
self and  usefulness  to  the  State.  In  1865  he  was  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  to  receive  the  remains  of  President  LIN- 
COLN, at  the  city  of  New  York,  and  conduct  them  through 
the  State.  He  was  also  on  the  Ways  and  Means,  a  com- 
mittee of  which,  in  the  following  year,  he  was  Chairman. 

Mr.  WOOD  was  a  Whig;  then  a  Eepublican.  During  the 
war  he  labored  without  ceasing.  The  first  regiment  which 
went  from  Syracuse  was  raised  in  one  week.  In  the  same 
period,  mainly  through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  WOOD,  nearly 
§20,000  was  contributed  on  behalf  of  the  soldiers  and  their 
families.  His  patriotism  knew  no  fear  or  faltering ;  he  kept 


DANIEL  P.  WOOD.  115 

up  his  patience  and  his  hope,  speaking  words  of  good  cheer 
all  the  more  when  hours  were  darkest. 

Mr.  WOOD  made  such  a  magnificent  record  during  his 
preceding  term  in  the  Senate  that  his  renomination  was  a 
matter  of  course.  He  was  renominated  by  acclamation  and 
elected  by  a  majority  of  12,761,  as  against  3,991  received  in 
1871.  The  Democracy  made  no  nomination  against  him, 
and  the  only  organized  opposition  of  any  kind  was  repre- 
sented by  CHARLES  D.  B.  MILLS,  supported  by  the  distinc- 
tively temperance  vote. 

Mr.  WOOD  holds  in  this  Senate,  as  he  did  in  the  last,  the 
leading  and  important  position  of  Chairman  of  the  Finance 
Committee,  which  has  required  him  to  act  upon  the  vast 
fiscal  interests,  claims  and  necessities  of  the  State,  and  has 
given  him  a  great  weight  in  determining  its  public  policy. 
He  has  used  all  the  power  of  this  place  in  enforcing  retrench- 
ment, resisting  unjust  and  unworthy  claims,  fighting  ex- 
travagance and  prodigality  of  expenditure,  and  relieving  the 
burdens  of  the  people.  All  who  have  any  close  knowledge 
of  public  affairs,  know  that  to  his  firmness  and  courage  and 
persistency  the  State  is  indebted  for  saving  hundreds  of 
thousands  during  the  last  session  alone. 

In  his  more  general  duties  as  a  member  of  the  Senate,  Mr. 
WOOD  has  shown  himself  equally  watchful  and  straight- 
forward. He  has  stoutly  opposed  all  corrupt  and  question- 
able measures,  and  has  uniformly  been  on  the  side  of  honest 
and  economical  legislation. 

In  April,  1874,  the  Governor  appointed  the  senator  Major- 
General  of  the  Sixth  Division  of  the  National  Guard.  As  a 
recognition  of  faithful  and  able  public  service,  the  compli- 
ment was  well  deserved. 


116  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM  B.  WOODEN". 


WILLIAM  B.  WOODI:N",  of  Auburn,  represents  the  twenty- 
fifth  Senatorial  district,  consisting  of  the  counties  of  Cayuga 
and  Wayne.  He  was  born  at  Genoa,  in  the  county  of  Cayuga, 
on  the  25th  of  September,  1824.  After  receiving  a  thorough 
academic  education,  and  graduating  at  the  Cortland  Academy, 
he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  law  with  so  much  suc- 
cess that,  once  admitted  to  practice,  it  was  not  long  before  he 
rose  to  a  prominent  place  among  his  brethren  at  the  bar. 

In  1859,  his  high  character  and  conspicuous  legal  abilities 
secured  his  election  to  the  office  of  Surrogate  of  Cayuga 
county.  He  brought  to  the  discharge  of  the  delicate  and 
responsible  duties  incident  to  settling  up  estates,  so  much 
patience,  industry  and  intelligence,  that  his  re-election  as 
Surrogate  followed  almost  as  a  matter  of  course.  A  second 
re-election  resulted  at  the  proper  time,  and  when  Mr.WooDiN 
was  elevated  to  the  Senate,  in  1869,  there  was  a  general  and 
urgent  request  made  of  him  to  continue  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  Surrogate.  He  may  well  be  proud  of  the  indorse- 
ment which  he  has  thus  received  from  home. 

The  Senator's  first  experience  as  a  law-maker  for  the 
Empire  State  dates  back  to  1855.  In  that  year  he  repre- 
sented the  second  district  of  Cayuga  county  in  the  Assembly 
to  the  satisfaction  of  those  who  sent  him  there.  He  is  now 
serving  his  third  term  in  the  Senate,  haying  been  a  member  of 
that  body  in  1870, 1871, 1872, 1873.  During  his  first  term  he 
took  high  rank  as  a  legislator,  especially  distinguishing  himself 
from  the  very  start  as  a  debate-r.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
session  of  1871,  he  made  an  able  argument  on  the  right  or 
power  of  one  Legislature  to  rescind  the  action  of  a  previous 
Legislature  in  relation  to  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  an  argument  which,  although  delivered 


WILLIAM  B.    WO  ODIN.  117 

after  a  very  slight  preparation,  commanded  great  attention, 
and  was  pronounced  by  those  who  heard  it  as  an  exhaustive 
treatment  of  the  subject  under  discussion. 

Having,  in  his  two  years'  service  in  the  former  Senate, 
taken  rank  among  the  foremost  as  an  able,  judicious  and 
honest  legislator,  possessing  both  business  and  forensic  capac- 
ity, he  was,  in  the  fall  of  1871,  renominated  as  Senator  by 
acclamation.  In  the  last  Senate,  Mr.  WOODIN"  played  a 
very  prominent  part.  The  session  of  1872  was  presided 
over  by  Lieutenant-Governor  BEACH,  and,  that  gentleman 
being  opposed  politically  to  the  majority,  was,  very  naturally, 
desirous  of  being  relieved  from  the  responsibility  of  naming 
the  standing  committees.  Accordingly,  the  task  of  commit- 
tee-making fell  to  Senator  WOODIN",  who  had  been  chosen  by 
his  associates  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate.  Probably  no 
more  thankless  or  delicate  task  can  well  be  conceived  of  than 
that  of  forming  standing  committees.  AETEMUS  WAED 
thought  he  could  achieve  a  military  success  by  raising  a  regi- 
ment to  be  composed  entirely  of  major-generals.  The  plan 
is  more  felicitous  than  feasible,  but  if  something  similar  to  it 
could  be  contrived  for  legislative  bodies,  in  virtue  of  which 
every  honorable  gentleman  should  have  a  chairmanship,  Mr. 
President  and  Mr.  Speaker  would  have  considerable  less  worry 
than  under  the  present  limitations.  We  believe  Senator 
WOODIN  gave  general  satisfaction  with  his  make-up  of  the 
Senate  committees  for  1872  —  the  chief  if  not  the  only  point 
of  criticism  that  developed  itself  being  that  he  gave  himself 
no  appointments. 

Lieutenant-Governor  KOBINSON,  in  arranging  the  Senate 
committees  for  1873,  designated  Senator  WOODIN  as  Chair- 
man on  the  Committee  of  Cities,  .a  position  which  was  an 
appropriate  recognition  of  his  standing  among  his  associates 
and  his  signal  legislative  capacity,  but  which  is  exceedingly 
responsible  and  onerous.  It  was  impossible  to  satisfy  all  the 
conflicting  interests  and  views  that  came  up  in  connection 
with  the  New  York  charter  and  other  leading  measures,  but 


118  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

the  vigor  and  capacity  displayed  by  Senator  WOODIN  are 
nowhere  disputed. 

He  was  elected  to  the  present  Senate  by  a  plurality  of  388 
over  GEORGE  W.  CTJYLER,  Democrat,  and  DEWITT  C.  PAR- 
SHALL,  Independent  Kepublican.  He  retains  his  position  as 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Cities,  and  has  demonstrated 
anew  his  signal  ability,  industry  as  a  legislator,  accomplish- 
ments as  a  lawyer,  and  his  ready  comprehension  of  public 
questions. 


HENRY  A.  GLIDDEN, 

CLERK  OF  THE  SENATE. 

The  duties  of  the  Clerk  of  such  a  body  as  the  Senate  are 
not  solely  or  chiefly  clerical,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of 
the  word.  Very  much  more  is  required  of  him  than  keeping 
the  diary  of  each  day's  legislative  doings  in  a  large,  legible 
hand;  very  much  more  than  filing  petitions,  bills,  reports 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing  in  appropriate  pigeon  holes,  and 
producing  them  when  required ;  very  much  more  than  tak- 
ing charge  of  that  important  but  imaginary  table  attached 
to  his  desk,  upon  which  so  many  documents  of  one  kind  and 
another  are  temporarily  or  permanently  "  laid ; "  very  much 
more  than  proclaiming,  with  stentorian  voice,  all  the  wisdom 
which  "  The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented 
in  Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact." 

A  man  may  give  satisfaction  as  regards  all  the  points 
indicated,  and,  nevertheless,  fall  short  of  the  stature  of  a 
Clerk  of  the  requisite  capacity  and  accomplishments.  A 
thoroughly  capable  Clerk  —  such  an  one,  for  instance,  as  he 
whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  this  article  —  is,  on  occas- 
ion, and  must  always  stand  ready  to  be,  the  prompter,  if  not 
the  power,  behind  the  Chair.  When  new  and  inexperienced 
legislators  for  the  first  time  are  called  upon  to  preside  over 


HENRY  A.  (}  LID  DEN.  119 

Senate  or  Committee  of  the  Whole,  where  would  they  be  — 
what  would  become  of  them  but  for  the  friendly  and  incessant 
whispers  of  the  clerk  ?  When  a  knotty  point  in  parliament- 
ary law  is  brought  forward  to  the  disagreement  of  the  Sena- 
tors, the  Clerk  who,  on  being  consulted,  fails  to  produce  from 
his  tongue's  end  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  is  apt  to  be 
looked  upon  with  a  measure  of  disapprobation;  as  one  not 
entirely  fortified  in  his  position.  In  addition  to  all  this,  the 
Clerk  is  expected  to  name,  on  the  instant  that  a  bill  is  intro- 
duced—no matter  how  queer  and  outlandish  the  bill  — 
the  very  committee  set  apart  for  its  reception ;  to  keep  in 
mind  the  title  of  every  act  "  entitled  an  act "  introduced 
from  the  commencement  to  the  close  of  the  session,  includ- 
ing, as  germain  to  the  subject,  the  name  of  the  committee 
to  whom  referred,  and  the  date  of  subsequent  report. 
Having  added  that,  he  must  be  as  ready  with  answers  to  all 
sorts  of  questions  as  a  metropolitan  hotel  clerk;  that  his 
legislative  ability  would  avail  him  but  little  unless  combined 
with  great  executive  talents ;  that  it  behooves  him  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  men  as  well  as  of  affairs ;  to  be  the  possessor 
of  the  social  virtue  of  unfailing  good  nature;  and,  as  it 
were,  to  be  a  walking  edition  of  the  blue  and  red  book.  We 
refrain  from  further  definition,  and,  merely  repeating  our 
preliminary  observation,  that  the  duties  of  the  Clerk  of  the 
Senate  are  not  solely  or  chiefly  clerical,  we  pass  on  to  give  a 
brief  sketch  of  the  present  efficient  Clerk  of  the  Senate, 
HENRY  A.  GLIBBER. 

HESTRY  A.  GLIDDEN  was  born  at  Clarendon,  in  the  county 
of  Orleans,  on  the  21st  of  August,  1830.  He  received  a 
good  academical  education,  and  graduated  at  the  State 
Normal  School,  at  Albany,  in  1848.  After  leaving  school, 
he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  law,  studying  with 
Hon.  SANFORD  E.  CHURCH  and  Hon.  NOAH  DAVIS,  at 
Albion.  He  also  availed  himself  of  the  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  attendance  at  the  law  school  in  Albany.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1852,  but  the  press  of  business  in 


120  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

other  directions  has  given  him  very  little  time  for  the  prac 
tice  of  his  profession. 

Mr.  GLIDDEJST  has  always  been  an  active  politician.  Start- 
ing as  a  Whig,  he  cast  his  lot  with  the  Republican  party  as 
soon  as  it  was  organized,  and  has  remained  a  Republican 
ever  since.  His  official  experience  outside  of  the  Senate  is 
included  in  a  three  years  term  as  Supervisor  of  the  town  of 
Ridgeway,  Orleans  county. 

Mr.  GLIDDEN  has  long  been  a  familiar  presence  to  those 
attending  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature.  For  eight  years 
he  occupied  the  position  of  assistant  clerk  of  the  Senate, 
being  retained  under  some  administrations  opposed  to  him 
politically.  His  retention  for  so  many  years  of  a  position  for 
which  there  is  always  such  a  crowd  of  applicants  speaks 
well  for  his  reputation  for  capacity  and  integrity.  His  elec- 
tion to  the  position  which  he  now  holds  was  a  compliment 
of  which  he  might  well  be  proud.  He  was  chosen  by  a 
unanimous  vote,  Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans  recording 
themselves  heartily  in  favor  of  a  man  whom  they  knew  to 
be  thoroughly  equipped  for  the  competent  discharge  of  the 
many  responsible  duties  devolving  upon  a  Clerk. 

Mr.  GrLiDDEN  is  prompt,  intelligent,  patient  and  courteous, 
and  is  as  popular  in  his  new  position  as  he  was  always  faith- 
ful in  every  public  duty  hitherto  assigned  him. 


MEMBERS  OF  ASSEMBLY. 


JEREMIAH  McGUIRE, 

SPEAKEB. 

From  the  moment,  almost,  when  the  result  of  the  Novem- 
ber  election  was  known,  Mr.  McG-uiKE  was  talked  of  in  all 
parts  of  the  State  for  the  Speakership  of  the  new  Assembly. 
Other  worthy  and  able  men  were  named  for  the  position,  and 
among  them  was  one  of  commanding  intellectual  stature, 
who  has  since  passed  from  earth,  but  none  better  united 
the  essential  qualifications  required  than  the  member  from 
Chemung.  Long  before  the  House  convened,  Mr.  McGuiRE 
virtually  had  the  field  to  himself,  and  his  was  the  only  name 
presented  to  the  Democratic  caucus  for  the  Speakership,  the 
choice  of  that  CAUCUS  being,  of  course,  equivalent  to  an  elec- 
tion. On  assuming  the  chair  as  presiding  officer,  he  made  a 
brief  and  exceedingly  judicious  speech,  succinctly  outlining 
the  principles  which  would  govern  him  in  guiding  the  delib- 
erations of  the  Assembly.  The  following  extract  will  show 
the  spirit  of  this  address,  which  was  received  with  strong 
manifestations  of  approval  from  the  members  of  both  par- 
ties: 


OF  THE  ASSEMBLY  —  It  is  not  affectation 
when  I  say  that  it  is  with  the  greatest  diffidence  that  I  accept 
and  enter  upon  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  position 
to  which  your  partiality  has  assigned  me.  I  am  not  unmind- 
ful of  the  perplexing  duties,  the  harrassing  cares,  and  the 
peculiar  responsibilities  of  the  place.  Confessing  and  admit- 
ting my  inexperience,  and  it  may  be  a  lack  of  some  of  the 

16 


122  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

requisite  qualifications,  I  have  no  misgiving  or  doubt  but  that 
I  can  preside  with  the  strictest  impartiality,  ignoring  all  par- 
tisanship, administer  your  rules  with  the  utmost  fairness, 
recognizing  the  rights  of  the  minority,  respecting  the  privi- 
leges of  each  individual  member,  and  regarding  and  treating 
each  as  the  peer  of  his  fellow.  *  *  *  We  have  met  under 
peculiar  and  delicate  circumstances,  at  a  time  when  trade  is 
struck  with  the  blight  of  stagnation ;  when  the  business  inter- 
ests of  the  State  are  in  a  measure  prostrated,  and  industries  are 
in  a  state  of  partial  paralysis ;  at  a  time  when  the  public  pulse 
is  feverish  and  excited,  and  the  eyes  of  the  people  are  turned 
to  their  servants ;  at  a  time  when  there  is  a  wide-spread  and 
deep-rooted  suspicion — if  not  an  absolute  conviction  —  that 
government  has  been  perverted  from  its  true  ends,  aims  and 
purposes ;  that  it  has  been  administered  in  the  interest  of 
the  few,  at  the  expense  of  the  many ;  at  a  time  when  our 
proceedings  will  be,  by  all  classes  of  our  constituents,  closely 
watched,  canvassed  and  criticised  ;  at  a  time  when  there  is  a 
stern  and  inflexible  purpose  being  formed  and  maturing  in 
the  public  mind,  to  hold  all  officers  to  a  strict  accountability 
for  the  proper  execution  of  the  trust  committed  to  them. 
With  the  argus  eyes  of  the  press  upon  us,  ready  to  shoot 
from  its  quiver  the  barbed  arrows  of  censure  and  condemna- 
tion if  we  err;  with  a  watchful  and  vigilant  people  firmly 
resolving  that  hereafter  their  business,  not  ours,  must  be  con- 
scientiously performed,  it  behooves  us  to  move  and  act  with 
wisdom,  prudence  and  caution,  and  above  all  with  honesty, 
fairness  and  integrity,  and  an  eye  single  to  the  public  good 
and  welfare,  resisting  in  legislation  all  evil,  or  appearance  of 
evil. 

"  It  is  expected,  nay,  it  is  imperatively  demanded  of  us,  that 
as  we  hold  the  keys  of  the  public  treasury,  we  be  prudent  in 
appropriations  and  economical  in  expenditures,  that  all 
extravagance  and  prodigality,  all  exclusively  personal  and 
selfish  schemes  be  ignored,  scouted  and  condemned ;  that 
the  corner-stone  and  fundamental  principle  of  our  action 
must  be  such  legislation  as  shall  conduce  to  good  govern- 
ment and  in  the  interests  of  the  people  at  large  —  recogniz- 
ing, respecting  and  guaranteeing  the  rights  of  corporations 
to  manage  their  own  affairs  and  control  their  own  proceed- 
ings and  actions,  whether  such  corporations  be  moneyed  or 
municipal,  at  the  same  time  protecting  the  people  against 
overshadowing  monopolies  or  the  encroachments  of  large 
and  powerful  associations.  *  *  * 


JEREMIAH  McGuiRE.  123 

"  The  majority  of  this  body  is  responsible  for  its  legislation. 
For  a  failure  to  execute  the  will  of  the  people,  as  recently 
by  them  unmistakably  expressed,  for  all  bad  and  vicious 
enactments,  you,  gentlemen  of  the  majority,  must  account 
to  your  constituents.  Let  there  be  no  shrinking,  no  dodg- 
ing of  responsibility.  In  view  of  the  pledge  that  each  of 
you  gave  when  you  accepted  a  nomination  for  a  seat  in  this 
body,  that  you  would  be  so  accountable  and  responsible,  let 
me  entreat  you  to  watch  with  more  than  ordinary  care  and 
vigilance  to  see  that  no  improper  or  questionable  legislation 
passes  this  body  to  bring  discredit  upon  us,  and  thus  render 
our  professions  a  sham  and  delusion.  Our  constant  aim  and 
endeavor  should  be  to  elevate  the  standard  of  official  life. 
It  should  be  a  high,  proud  and  honorable  position  to  be  a 
lawgiver  of  the  State  of  New  York.  In  the  early  days  it 
was  so  considered  and  regarded.  Can  we  not,  by  the  prac- 
tice of  economy  and  retrenchment,  remembering  that  it  is 
for  the  large  body  of  the  people  that  we  legislate  and  not  for 
a  favored  few,  exacting  honesty  and  integrity  in  official  life, 
acting  only  for  the  welfare  of  all  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
State,  bring  back  our  Legislature  to  the  high  place  it  occu- 
pied when  presided  over  by  a  SPENCER,  a  LIVINGSTON,  and 
our  own  living  and  honored  statesman,  HORATIO  SEYMOUR, 
instead  of  allowing  it  to  sink,  sink,  until  it  becomes  a  by- 
word and  reproach  ?  Majority  and-  minority  are  alike  inter- 
ested in  good  laws,  careful  and  prudent  expenditures,  an 
absence  of  all  suspicion,  or  taint  of  suspicion,  around  this 
capitol.  In  this  respect  we  can  exclaim  with  one  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Kepublic :  "  We  are  all  Democrats ;  we  are  all 
Kepublicans." 

Mr.  McGuiRE  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  the  year  1825,  and 
came  to  this  country  at  quite  an  early  age.  We  are  without 
details  of  his  early  youth  and  education,  and  can  only  state 
in  a  general  way  that,  though  deprived  of  many  of  the 
advantages  of  obtaining  knowledge  possessed  by  the  youth 
of  the  present  day,  his  energy  and  ambition  enabled  him  to 
surmount  all  the  difficulties  which  lay  in  his  way  in  that 
respect.  As  a  result  he  is  to-day  regarded  as  one  of  the  best 
read  lawyers  of  the  State,  being  especially  eminent  as  an 
advocate.  In  the  management  of  intricate  land  cases  he  has 


124  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

acquired  wide  fame,  his  success  in  that  line  of  legal  practice 
being  very  great.  He  has  practiced  for  mauy~years  in  the 
courts  of  central  and  southern  New  York,  and  has,  in  fact, 
been  connected  with  more  celebrated  causes  than  usually 
fall  to  the  lot  of  lawyers  outside  of  the  great  cities.  He 
has  had  charge  from  their  commencement  of  several  heavy 
suits,  which  have  been  in  litigation  many  years,  and  involve 
immense  estates. 

His  first  and  only  legislative  service,  prior  to  the  present 
year,  was  obtained  in  the  Assembly  of  1873.  In  that  body 
he  served  on  the  Judiciary  committee,  and  also  on  those  on 
Local  and  Special  Laws,  and  Claims.  In  the  Judiciary  com- 
mittee, though  a  minority  member,  he  was  exceedingly 
efficient,  his  experience  and  legal  knowledge  enabling  him 
to  render  valuable  aid  in  perfecting  the  important  legisla- 
tion which  came  before  that  committee.  He  was  conspicuous 
also  on  the  floor,  and  his  famous  attack  on  the  Cornell 
University  land  grant,  which  led  to  the  appointment  of  a 
special  commission  by  the  Governor  and  an  elaborate  inves- 
tigation of  the  whole  matter,  is  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  watch  public  affairs.  His  speech  on  that  occasion 
was  an  impressive  and  powerful  effort,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  startling  allegations  which  it  contained,  but  because 
of  the  deliberate  and  earnest  delivery  of  its  carefully  worded 
sentences,  and  the  tone  of  scathing  invective  which  charac- 
terized it  throughout.  Kegarded  purely  as  a  forensic  effort, 
the  speech  was  worthy  of  much  praise,  and  it  certainly  added 
largely  to  Mr.  McGuiRE's  repute  throughout  the  State.  Of 
its  subject-matter  and  the  result  of  the  subsequent  investi- 
gation it  does  not  become  us  to  speak,  further  than  to  remark 
that  while  the  vindication  of  the  late  EZRA  CORNELL  has 
been  complete,  no  one  has  ventured  to  question,  in  the 
slightest  degree,  the  motives  of  Mr.  McGu-iRE  in  making 
the  charges. 

In  performing  the  difficult  and  oftentimes  very  perplexing 
duties  belonging  to  his  present  position,  Speaker  McGuiRE 


JEREMIAH  McGviRE.  125 

has  won  the  praise  of  all  parties.  His  rulings  are  uniformly 
fair  and  just,  swayed  a  little,  perhaps,  by  party  sympathy, 
but  never  to  an  extent  to  provoke  well-founded  complaint 
from  the  individual  who  happens  to  be  the  victim  of  an 
adverse  decision.  In  the  chair  he  displays  a  serenity  and 
coolness  which  are  undisturbed  by  the  most  heated  contro- 
versies on  the  floor.  To  a  casual  observer  his  manner  is 
apparently  over-deliberate,  but  the  record  will  show  that 
business  has  progressed  with  all  desirable  rapidity.  At  all 
events  very  few  of  those  blunders  attributable  to  undue  haste 
are  to  be  noted. 

Occasionally  the  Speaker  descends  to  the  floor  and  effect- 
ively takes  part  in  the  discussion  of  important  measures. 
At  such  times  his  words  possess  controlling  weight.  His 
participation  in  the  debate  on  the  "  Costigan  bill,"  relating 
to  New  York  city  government,  is  one  of  the  memorable 
incidents  of  the  present  session,  and  his  withering  denuncia- 
tion of  certain  Democratic  members  who  arrayed  them- 
selves in  opposition  to  the  bill,  will  long  be  remembered  by 
those  who  heard  it.  That  it  was  effective  is  sufficiently 
shown  by  the  fact  that  most  of  the  gentlemen  referred  to 
finally  voted  for  the  bill. 

Speaker  McG-triKE  has  resided  in  Elmira  about  a  year, 
and  was  formerly  a  resident  of  Schuyler  county,  which  he 
represented  during  his  first  term  in  the  Assembly.  He 
enjoys  the  respect  and  esteem  of  a  large  acquaintanceship, 
not  only  where  he  resides,  but  throughout  the  State.  His 
qualities  of  head  and  heart  are  such  as  to  invite  friendship 
and  regard.  In  his  manner  he  is  always  courteous  and 
agreeable.  Very  little  of  the  politician  or  the  lawyer  appears 
in  his  social  intercourse,  and  he  is  in  all  respects  a  culti- 
vated gentleman,  with  something  of  the  old  school  tinge  per- 
ceptible in  his  bearing  and  conversation.  His  career  as  a 
politician,  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  man,  is  alike  honorable  to 
himself  and  to  the  community  where  he  resides. 


126  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


THOMAS  GK  ALVOKD. 


It  seems  well  nigh  a  superfluous  task  to  attempt  a 
biographical  sketch  of  the  venerable  and  well  known  Mem- 
ber from  Onondaga.  The  record  of  his  long  and  honorable 
legislative  career  is  part  of  the  history  of  the  State,  and 
there  ought  to  be  very  few  people  who  need  to  be  told  who 
or  what  he  is.  While  a  member  of  the  Legislature  he  has 
always  ranked  among  its  foremost  men  in  point  of  ability, 
while  his  experience,  tact  and  foresight  have  rendered  him 
an  exceedingly  valuable  and  efficient  member.  His  legisla- 
tive career  has  not  been  distinguished  so  much  for  that 
brilliancy  Avhich  captivates  people  for  a  time  as  for  a  plain 
matter-of-fact  course,  which  has  not  been  greatly  interrupted 
by  mistakes,  and  being  almost  invariably  characterized  by 
those  efforts  wtiich  have  a  telling  effect  upon  men.  There 
is  nothing  visionary  about  Mr.  ALVORD.  If  he  theorizes, 
his  theories  are  based  upon  substantial  facts  and  lead  to 
obvious  conclusions,  while  his  views  upon  every  question  are 
well  considered  and  practical.  As  a  "  floor  "  member  of  the 
lower  branch  of  the  Legislature,  Mr.  ALVORD  has  had  very- 
few,  if  any,  superiors.  He  is  always  at  his  post,  watches 
closely  every  step  in  legislative  progress,  always  has  a  ready 
argument  at  his  tongue's  end,  no  matter  what  the  topic  which 
may  call  it  forth,  is  fertile  in  expedients,  in  ready  replies,  or 
in  daring  parliamentary  maneuvers,  and  is  in  every  way  a 
shrewd  political  manager  and  formidable  opponent.  Though 
he  is  reputed  to  be  somewhat  unscrupulous  in  his  hostility 
to  men  and  measures,  he  never  seeks  to  gain  an  advantage  by 
the  questionable  tactics  sometimes  resorted  to  by  less  skillful 
politicians.  His  great  strength  lies  in  his  splendid  oratorical 
ability,  his  practical  and  well  nigh  exhaustive  legal  and  politi- 
cal 'knowledge,  and  his  thorough  mastery  of  parliamentary 
rules.  In  the  latter  respect  he  is  almost  without  a  peer,  and 


THOMAS  G.  ALVORD.  127 

his  opinion  upon  points  of  order  is  rarely  questioned  by  the 
most  self-sufficient  opponent. 

Mr.  ALVORD  was  born  in  Onondaga,  Onondaga  county,  on 
the  20th  of  December,  1810.  He  is,  therefore,  a  little  over 
sixty-four  years  of  age.  His  father,  ELISHA  ALVORD,  was  a 
merchant,  and  formerly  resided  in  Lansingburgh,  Kensselaer 
county.  The  ALVORD  family  are  of  English  descent,  their 
ancestors  emigrating  to  this  country  in  the  year  1638.  His 
mother's  name  was  HELEN"  LANSING,  of  Holland  ancestry, 
and  both  his  grandfathers  were  revolutionary  pensioners,  his 
maternal  grandfather  being  a  captain  in  the  campaign  which 
resulted  in  Burgoyne's  surrender.  The  combination  of  the 
two  national  characteristics  —  English  and  Dutch — is  quite 
apparent  in  the  subject  of  our  sketch. 

Mr.  ALVORD  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1828,  his 
previous  preparatory  education  having  been  gained  at  the 
Lansingburgh  academy.  Having  completed  his  collegiate 
course,  he  studied  law  for  two  years  with  THOMAS  A. 
TOMLINSON  and  GEORGE  A.  SIMMONS,  at  Keeseville,  Essex 
county,  and  one  year  with  CHARLES  P.  KIRKLAND  and  WM. 
J.  BACON,  at  Utica,  N.  Y.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession January  1,  1833,  at  Salina,  now  the  first  ward  of  the 
city  of  Syracuse,  and  continued  until  1846.  Since  that  time 
he  has  been  a  lumberman  and  salt  manufacturer,  and  has 
been  quite  successful,  though  he  has  devoted  much  of  his 
time  to  politics  and  legislation. 

In  politics  he  was  originally  a  hard-shell  Democrat;  but 
he  united  with  the  Kepublicans  in  1864.  When  the  war 
broke  out  he  was  conspicuous  in  his  adherence  to  the  Union 
cause,  and  was  twice  elected  to  the  Assembly  as  a  Union  and 
War  Democrat.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  a  Eepublican 
of  independent  proclivities.  In  the  Presidential  campaign 
of  1872  he  acted  with  the  Liberals  and  voted  for  HORACE 
GREELEY.  In  1873  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  mainly 
by  Democratic  and  Liberal  votes,  though  he  made  no  pledges 
and  was  recognized  throughout  the  session  as  an  independent 


128  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Republican  in  the  fullest  sense.  Last  fall  he  was  re-elected 
on  the  regular  Republican  ticket.  He  was  first  elected  to 
the  Assembly  in  1844,  and  he  also  served  in  that  body  in 
1858,  1862,  1864.  1870,  1871,  1872,  and  now  1874  and  1875. 
He  was  Speaker  of  the  House  in  1858  and  1864,  and  in  that 
capacity  gained  great  popularity. 

In  1864  he  was  elected  Lieutenant-Gorernor,  running  on 
the  ticket  with  Governor  FEXTON",  and  served  through  1865 
and  1866.  As  president  of  the  Senate  he  presided  with  dig- 
nity, judgment  and  discrimination,  ruling  with  uniform 
impartiality,  and  very  generally  winning  the  respect  of 
Senators  of  both  parties.  He  also  represented  his  native 
county,  Onondaga,  in  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1868,  '69.  In  the  deliberations  of  that  convention,  which 
was  composed  of  some  of  the  ablest  gentlemen  in  the  State, 
Mr.  ALVOED  played  a  prominent  part  and  won  a  deserved 
reputation  as  a  skillful  debater. 

During  his  service  in  the  Assembly,  Mr.  ALVORD  has  served 
on  many  of  its  most  important  committees,  having  been 
Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means,  and  member  at  diiferent  times 
of  Canals,  Judiciary,  Grievances  and  others.  In  the  last 
House,  he  was  on  the  Ways  and  Means  and  Canal  Commit- 
tees, and  this  year  he  is  on  Ways  and  Means,  Canals,  General 
and  Special  Laws,  and  Rules.  His  vote  in  1873  stood  2,851 
against  2,571  for  WM.  H.  H.  GERE,  Republican,  by  whom  he 
was  defeated  in  1872  by  over  four  hundred  majority.  Last 
fall  he  received  a  plurality  of  1,188,  his  opponents  being 
JABKZ  H.  NORTON,  Democrat,  and  WARREN  S.  WHITE, 
Prohibition. 


JOHN  P.  BADGER.  129 


JOHN  P.  BADGER. 


JOH.N"  PBASLEE  BADGEK,  who  is  now  serving  his  third 
term,  was  born  in  Ossipee,  Carroll  county,  N.  H.,  August  3, 
1834.  He  is  a  son  of  WM.  P.  C.  BADGEK,  a  native  of  Comp- 
ton,  P.  Q.,  but  born  of  American  parents.  While  yet  in 
early  infancy  he  came  with  his  parents  to  this  State,  and  is 
consequently  a  New  Yorker  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  His 
father  and  mother  are  still  living  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, the  former  being  about  sixty  years  of  age.  Young 
BADGEK  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  though 
his  early  life  was  spent  upon  the  farm  and  in  a  country 
store,  of  which  he  was  proprietor  for  several  years,  he  availed 
himself  of  every  opportunity  to  prepare  himself  for  the  legal 
profession,  to  which  he  looked  forward  as  his  chosen  pursuit. 
He  finally  entered  the  Albany  Law  School,  graduated  with 
credit  in  November,  1871,  and  shortly  afterward  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar.  Since  that  time  he  has  practiced  law  with 
success,  taking  a  respectable  rank  among  the  lawyers  of  his 
county. 

Mr.  BADGER  learned  his  first  political  lessons  in  the  Amer- 
ican party,  and  was  an  ardent  member  of  that  party  during 
its  brief  existence,  voting  for  MILLARD  FILLMORE  for  Presi- 
dent. When  its  elements  were  scattered  he  identified  himself 
with  the  Eepublicans,  with  whom  he  has  continued  to  act  up 
to  the  present  time.  He  is,  constitutionally,  quite  an  active 
man,  and  has  therefore  been  a  participant  in  Franklin  county 
politics  for  a  number  of  years  past.  Twice  he  has  been 
elected  to  represent  his  town  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors  — 
in  1870  and  1872.  Though  his  town  was  formerly  Demo- 
cratic, he  carried  it  when  first  elected  by  a  majority  of  32. 
In  his  second  canvass  his  majority  was  46,  in  a  total  vote  of 
300;  and  in  the  fall  of  1872  he  carried  it  in  the  Assembly 
canvass  by  the  gratifying  majority  of  141,  his  entire  majority 
17 


130  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

in  the  county  over  W.  W.  PADDOCK,  being  I,x514,  or  about 
40  votes  ahead  of  the  State  ticket.  In  1873  his  majority 
over  BAKER  STEVENS  was  1,067,  the  majority  for  the  State 
ticket  being  about  900;  and  last  fall  he  received  a  plurality 
of  1,044,  his  opponents  being  THOS.  W.  CANTWELL,  Demo- 
crat, and  EDWIN  A.  TAYLOR,  Prohibition.  These  figures 
speak  well  for  the  popularity  of  the  Franklin  county  Member 
at  home. 

Mr.  BADGER'S  frank  and  modest  deportment  and  evident 
ability  attracted  popular  regard  very  early  in  his  legislative 
career.  He  developed  great  aptitude  for  legislative  duties, 
being  not  only  an  excellent  speaker,  but  an  invaluable  com- 
mitteeman.  As  member  of  the  committees  on  State  Prisons, 
Federal  Relations,  and  Engrossed  Bills,  in  1873,  he  made  an 
excellent  record.  Last  year  he  was  chairman  of  State 
Prisons,  and  member  of  Grievances  and  Sub-committee  of 
the  Whole,  and  at  present  is  on  Railroads  and  Sub-com- 
mittee of  the  Whole. 

He  is  a  consistent  and  earnest  member  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  possesses  a  character  entirely  above  reproach. 
He  was  married  in  January,  1855,  to  Miss  EMILY  E.  PHELPS. 


BENJAMIN  F.  BARKLEY. 


Mr.  BARKLEY  represents  the  county  of  Greene,  and  is 
known  as  a  plain  and  unostentatious  but  exceedingly  indus- 
trious member,  watchful  of  the  welfare  of  his  constituents. 
He  was  born  in  Lexington,  Greene  county,  December  14, 
1831,  of  American  and  German  ancestry.  His  father,  JOHN 
BARKLEY,  a  worthy  farmer,  and  his  mother,  ROXINA, 
are  still  living  at  Windham  in  the  same  county.  He 
received  a  common  school  education,  and  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he  was  infected  with 
the  California  fever,  and  went  to  that  State,  arriving  during 


GEORGE  BARROW.  131 

the  height  of  the  mining  excitement.  He  remained  in  the 
mines  until  1857,  when  he  returned  to  his  native  town. 
Subsequently  he  removed  to  the  town  of  Jewett,  where 
he  still  resides,  prosecuting  his  old  occupation,  that  of 
farming. 

Mr.  BARKLEY  has  always  belonged  to  the  Democratic 
party,. and  is  one  of  the  leading  Democrats  in  Greene  county. 
Besides  being  Supervisor  two  years,  in  1865  and  1866,  he  has 
held  the  office  of  Sheriff,  being  elected  in  1870  by  a  majority 
of  684  over  JOHN  J.  FINDER.  In  last  fall's  canvass  for  the 
Assenrbly  he  was  chosen  by  a  majority  of  564  over  HORATIO 
S.  LOCKWOOD,  who  represented  the  district  last  year.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  committees  on  Claims,  Manufacture  of  Salt 
and  Expenditures  of  the  Executive  Department. 

A  Baptist  in  religious  connection,  Mr.  BARKLEY  is  always 
foremost  in  every  enterprise  designed  for  the  social  or  moral 
welfare  of  the  community.  He  was  married  November  28, 
1860,  to  Miss  ELLEN  J.  PECK. 


GEORGE  BARROW. 


GEORGE  BARROW  was  born  in  the  brick  house,  still  stand- 
ing, on  the  north-east  corner  of  Clinton  and  Henry  streets, 
New  York  city,  March  14,  1839.  He  is  a  direct  lineal 
descendant  of  EGBERT  BARROW,  who  was  baptized  at  Cart- 
mel  Priory  church,  Lancashire,  England,  in  the  year  1530. 
The  records  of  this  church  (endowed  by  the  Earl  of  Pem- 
broke, A.  D.  1187),  do  not  extend  back  of  this  period.  JOHN 
BARROW,  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  BARROW,  left  Lancashire 
early  in  life  for  the  West  Indies,  but  shortly  afterward  came 
to  Long  Island,  and  subsequently,  for  many  years,  resided 
upon  Pearl  street,  then  a  fashionable  street  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  engaged  in  manufacturing,  and  afterward  in  insurance 
as  President  of  the  City  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  New 


132  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

York.  JOHN  BARKOW,  the  father,  was  born  here  in  1797, 
and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  was  married  to  ELIZA- 
BETH M.  PRIOR,  who  became  the  mother  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  and  nine  other  children.  JOHN  BARROW  died 
in  February,  1873,  at  an  advanced  age  and  greatly  respected. 
ELIZABETH  M.  PRIOR  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  EDMUND 
PRIOR.  He  was  a  sterling  old  Quaker  of  anti-slavery  fame, 
a  puritan  preacher,  who  came  to  America  shortly  after  the 
arrival  of  the  "  Mayflower."  Subsequently  his  family  espoused 
the  faith  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  removed,  for  greater 
religious  freedom,  to  the  vicinity  of  Huntington,  Long 
Island.  EDMUND  PRIOR,  grandfather  of  Mr.  BARROW,  was 
a  banker  and  merchant,  residing  in  New  York  city,  doing  an 
extensive  business,  and  having  among  his  customers  such 
men  as  Baron  STEUBEN,  LA  FAYETTE,  etc. 

Four  of  the  brothers  of  Mr.  BARROW  died  in  early  man- 
hood. EDMUND  P.  BARROW,  who  attained  the  greatest  age 
of  the  four,  was  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  of  1854,  from  the  Fifth  New  York  district,  elected 
on  a  reform  ticket.  He  died  in  the  year  1857,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-eight.  Mr.  BARROW'S  mother  is  still  living  in  good 
health,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

Mr.  BARROW'S  only  educational  advantages  have  been  com- 
mon school,  with  one  or  two  terms  at  private  school,  and  the 
general  advantages  of  a  cultured  home.  He  studied  law  in 
the  office  of  BENONI  LEE,  Esq.,  ac  Skaneateles,  and  subse- 
quently in  the  office  of  SEDGWICK,  ANDREWS  &  KENNEDY, 
at  Syracuse,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  October  4,  1860. 
Since  that  time  he  has  practiced  law  at  Skaneateles  with 
good  success.  He  became  interested  in  politics  at  the  time 
of  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  since  been 
an  active  and  ardent  Republican,  inclined  to  partizanship 
rather  than  liberalism.  He  has  held  several  town  offices. 
In  1863,  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  town  of 
Skaneateles,  but  the  office  interfering  with  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  he  resigned  it  the  same  year.  In  1865,  his. 


GEORGE  BARROW.  133 

name  was  presented  to  the  Eepublican  convention  for  mem- 
ber of  Assembly,  but  Mr.  KANNY,  a  former  member,  was 
renominated  by  a  majority  of  one.  He  has  repeatedly  been 
a  member  of  the  Republican  County  Committee,  and,  during 
several  active  campaigns,  a  "  stump  speaker." 

During  the  late  war  Mr.  BARROW  was  an  active  home- 
.worker,  his  office  for  about  two  years  being  practically  a 
recruiting  office. 

In  the  canvass  of  1873,  two  candidates  were  arrayed  against 
him,  MATHIAS  BRITTON,  Democrat,  and  DANIEL  PIBTCKNEY, 
'Temperance.  He  received  a  plurality,  however,  of  279,  and 
a  majority  over  both  of  33.  Last  fall  his  plurality  was  in- 
creased to  417,  and  his  majority  to  291,  his  opponents  being 
MATHIAS  BRITTON,  Democrat,  and  L.  1ST.  STRATTON,  Pro- 
hibition. Last  year  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Villages,  Banks  and  Engrossed  Bills,  and  this  year  he  serves 
on  Villages  and  Engrossed  Bills. 

Mr.  BARROW  was  married  September  29,  1863,  to  CARO- 
LINE M.  TYLER,  of  Skaneateles.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  He  has  been  a  frequent  con- 
tributor of  editorials  to  the  public  journals,  and  as  a  writer 
of  fiction  has  contributed  to  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and  other 
leading  magazines. 

Mr.  BARROW  is  a  fluent  and  agreeable  speaker,  and  a  man 
of  varied  learning.  During  his  student  life  his  inclinations 
were  of  a  literary  nature,  and  he  frequently  lectured  before 
the  lyceums  and  literary  societies  of  his  own  and  neighbor- 
ing towns.  He  possesses,  in  a  large  degree,  those  qualities 
of  head  and  heart  which  win  favor  and  popularity,  and  he 
evidently  has  a  brilliant  career  yet  before  him.  In  business 
matters  he  is  the  soul  of  honor,  and  socially  he  is  genial  and 
companionable — a  cultivated  and  courteous  gentleman. 
His  constituency  may  well  felicitate  itself  upon  being  well 
and  effectively  represented  at  the  capitol. 


134  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


A.  NELSON  BEACH. 


Mr.  BEACH  represents  the  Thirteenth  district  of  New  York, 
and  except  Mr.  STAUF,  is  the  youngest  member  of  the 
metropolitan  delegation. 

He  was  born  in  Gooperstown,  Otsego  county,  July  12, 1848, 
where  he  lived  until  he  was  five  years  of  age.  Since  that 
time  he  has  resided  continuously  in  the  Sixteenth  ward  of 
New  York  city.  He  attended  the  school  of  Dr.  G-EOKGE 
PAYIST  QUACKENBUSH,  and  for  five  years  attended  the  Medi- 
cal lectures  at  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College.  At 
the  age  of  21,  he  graduated  with  high  honor.  He  has  now 
been  engaged  a  number  of  years  in  the  practice  of  medicine, 
and  has  already  attained  considerable  repute.  During  three 
years,  1870-1873,  he  filled  with  credit  the  post  of  Surgeon  of 
the  Police  Department,  in  New  York  city.  He  has  always 
been  identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  in  which  he  has 
displayed  a  good  deal  of  activity  and  usefulness.  His 
present  service  in  the  Assembly,  however,  constitutes  his  first 
experience  in  an  elective  office.  Inasmuch  as  he  is  a  young 
man  of  great  activity  and  efficiency,  with  most  of  the  qual- 
ities which  win  popularity,  he  is  probably  at  the  threshold  of 
a  brilliant  public  career. 

Dr.  BEACH  is  a  grandson  of  the  late  SAMUEL  NELSON", 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  canvass  of  last  fall,  Dr.  BEACH  received  a  majority 
of  68  over  CHARLES  BLACKIE,  a  former  ^Republican  mem- 
ber of  the  House ;  the  Eepublican  plurality  the  previous  year 
being  687.  The  contest  was  a  very  close  and  exciting  one. 


CHARLES  8.  BEARDSLEY,  JR.  135 


CHAELES  S.  BEARDSLEY,  JR. 


Mr.  BEARDSLEY,  though  a  Democrat,  has  the  honor  of  repre- 
senting a  strong  Eepublican  district,  the  First,  of  Cay- 
uga,  his  opponent,  LEONARD  F.  HARDY,  baring  previously 
been  twice  elected  to  the  House  by  very  large  majorities. 
The  district,  however,  will  suffer  no  dishonor  through  his 
legislative  action,  as  he  is  a  young  man  of  strict  integrity  and 
very  decided  ability. 

He  is  a  native  and  life-long  resident  of  Cayuga  county, 
and  was  born  in  Auburn,  March  7,  1845.  His  early  studies 
were  prosecuted  in  the  public  schools,  and  later  he  attended 
Auburn  Academy.  Deciding  to  embrace  the  law  as  his  pro- 
fession, he  then  passed  through  the  usual  course  of  study  in 
the  Albany  Law  School.  From  thence  he  graduated  with 
honor,  was  duly  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  for  several  years 
practiced '  at  Auburn.  He  subsequently  became  connected 
with  journalism,  editing  for  some  time  the  Auburn  Courier, 
and  latterly  he  has  been  engaged  in  iron  manufacturing. 

He  has  always  been  known  as  an  active  Democrat,  and 
enjoys  in  large  measure  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fel- 
low-citizens. In  1872  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  State  Conven- 
tion, and  he  also  represented  his  ward  in  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men for  several  years.  In  the  House  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Internal  Affairs,  Militia  and  State  Prisons, 
and  has  thus  far  shown  himself  to  be  an  exceedingly  capable 
legislator. 


136  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


SAMUEL  T.  BENEDICT. 


SAMUEL  T.  BENEDICT,  who  represents  the  county  of 
Schenectady  in  the  present  Assembly,  is  not  a  politician,  in 
the  ordinary  acceptance  of  that  word.  He  is,  indeed,  warmly 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Democratic  party  — a  party 
with  which  he  has  always  been  identified  —  but  to  him 
politics  does  not  mean  wire-pulling  and  place-seeking. 

The  salient  facts  in  his  history  may  be  briefly  stated  as 
follows :  SAMUEL  T.  BENEDICT  was  born  in  Danbury, 
Conn.,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1837,  and  consequently  is  now 
in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood.  His  father,  RUSSELL  BENE- 
DICT, a  retired  merchant,  is  still  living  and  resides  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  SAMUEL  received  the  first  rudiments  of 
his  education  at  the  Institute  at  "White  Plains,  New  York, 
and  remained  at  the  institution  until  his  preparation  for  the 
Freshman  class  of  college  was  finished.  In  1856  he  entered 
Union  College,  and  from  thence  he  graduated  in  1860,  his 
being  one  of  the  last  classes  at  whose  graduation  the  great 
Dr.  NOTT  presided. 

Having  determined  to  adopt  Law  as  his  profession,  Mr. 
BENEDICT,  directly  after  leaving  Union  College,  connected 
himself  with  the  well-known  Harvard  law  school  at  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  from  which  he  emerged  with  his  graduating 
diploma  in  1862.  After  some  months  spent  in  the  office  of 
STEDMAN  &  STRONG,  a  legal  firm  at  Albany,  he  removed  to 
New  York  and  there  remained  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  until  1865,  when  he  returned  to  Schenectady, 
where  he  has  since  resided. 

In  1865  Mr.  BENEDICT  was  married  to  Miss  JULIA  JACK- 
SON, daughter  of  Dr.  ISAAC  W.  JACKSON,  of  Union  College. 

Mr.  BENEDICT  is  still  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Schenectady,  and  holds  the  office  of  United  States 


WARREN  C.  BENNETT.  137 

Commissioner  and  Examiner  in  Chancery,  to  which  he  was 
appointed  by  the  United  States  Circuit  Court.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  by  the  substantial  majority  of  856 
over  CHAELES  STANFOBD,  his  Eepublican  opponent.  As  a 
legislator  he  is  faithtul  and  dilligent,  very  seldom  indulging 
in  elaborate  speech-making,  but  keeping  a  close  .watch  on  all 
the  measures  presented  to  the  House  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber. 


WAKREN  C.  BENNETT. 


Mr.  BENNETT  ranks  among  the  quieter  class  of  legislators — 
possessing  no  marked  gift  for  public  speaking ;  but  there 
are,  perhaps,  few  men  in  the  capitol  more  watchful  of  legis- 
lation, or  better  able,  as  a  rule,  to  vote  understandingly  upon 
the  multifarious  measures  which  come  up  for  action.  He  is 
wide  awake,  practicaf  and  discreet — three  qualities  of  inesti- 
mable value,  and,  as  he  is  scarcely  erer  absent  from  his  seat, 
his  constituents  may  be  congratulated  upon  the  possession  of 
a  faithful  and  useful  representative. 

Mr.  BENNETT  was  born  in  New  York  city,  July  25,  1836, 
of  American  parents.  He  attended  the  Mount  Washington 
Collegiate  School  conducted  by  Hon.  GEO.  W.  CLAEKE,  and 
received  a  good  education  in  the  higher  English  branches. 
Since  his  majority  he  has  been  engaged  in  commercial  pur- 
suits in  New  York,  being  for  many  years  clerk  in  a  large 
dry  goods  house. 

During  the  war  he  served  a  three  months  term  with  the 
Seventh  Eegiment  at  Baltimore,  and  was  a  member  of  that 
famous  regiment  for  a  number  of  years.  During  a  period  of 
ten  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Volunteer  Fire  Depart- 
ment. Though  always  a  Democrat,  Mr.  BENNETT  has  never 
before  been  an  incumbent  of  any  office.  He  has,  however, 
been  prominent  and  active  in  local  politics,  being  a  trusted 
18 


138  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

member  of  the  Tammany  Society.  He  was  elected  to  the 
Assembly  by  a  plurality  of  995,  to  succeed  AUSTIN  LEAKE, 
a  Kepublican,  whose  plurality  was  782. 

Mr.  B.,  as  we  have  intimated,  is  a  man  of  quiet  disposi- 
tion, but  he,  nevertheless,  possesses  fine  social  qualities,  and 
is  a  favorite  with  all  who  have  occasion  to  know  him. 


GEORGE  BERRY. 


Mr.  BEEKY  is  well  known  as  a  prominent  politician  and 
reliable  business  man  of  Madison  county.  He  represents 
the  second  district  of  that  county,  which  is  ordinarily 
Eepublican  by  several  hundred  majority.  He  was  born  in 
the  county  on  the  12th  of  November,  1820,  and  had  the 
benefit  of  a  fair  common  school  education.  He  was,  however, 
obliged  to  begin  early  the  struggle  of  life,  and  thus  acquired 
habits  of  self-reliance  which  have  since  been  of  great  value 
to  him.  His  occupation  is  that  of  a  tanner,  to  which  he  was 
brought  up,  but  he  has  large  and  varied  business  interests  in 
Oneida,  where  he  resides,  and  is  a  director  of  the  bank  in 
that  village.  He  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
affairs  of  the  county,  political  and  otherwise,  and  is  regarded 
as  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  unimpeachable  character. 
He  has  never  been  in  the  Assembly  before,  but  he  served  one 
term  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  in  1856,  and  during  three  terms 
has  represented  his  town  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  being 
now  a  member  of  the  Board.  He  has  also  been  president  of 
the  village  and  trustee  for  several  years.  He  is  a  man  of 
large  physique,  with  a  kindly  face,  and  plain  but  courteous 
and  agreeable  manners.  He  wields  a  good  deal  of  influence 
in  the  Assembly,  being  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Banks  and  Agriculture  and  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Expenditures  of  the  House. 


JAMES  BISHOP.  139 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  canvass,  which  resulted  in 
his  election  to  the  Assembly,  was  one  of  the  most  exciting 
and  closely  contested  in  the  history  of  the  district.  His 
opponent  was  J.  WATSOJT  ARMOUK,  a  very  able  Eepublican ; 
but  he  defeated  him  by  a  majority  of  27,  although  the  other 
side  put  forth  extraordinary  efforts.  The  Republican  ma- 
jority, in  1873,  was  404. 


JAMES  BISHOP. 

Mr.  BISHOP,  the  "  gentleman  from  Tioga,"  as  he  is  styled 
in  parliamentary  parlance,  is  a  man  of  few  words,  but  he  is 
evidently  a  solid  man  of  business  and  able  and  efficient  in 
whatever  position  he  may  be  placed.  He  has  long  been  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  is  one  of  the 
most  influential  citizens  of  Owego,  where  he  has  resided 
many  years,  and  is  well  known  as  a  man  of  cool  and  sound 
judgment  and  earnest  impulses.  He  has  long-  been  promi- 
nent among  the  Republicans  of  his  town  and  county. 

He  was  born  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  October  6,  1823,  and 
received  a  Connecticut  education,  attending  public  and  pri- 
vate schools  at  Middletown  until  his  seventeenth  year.  After 
reaching  man's  estate,  he  came  to  Owego  and  became  super- 
intendent of  bridges  and  buildings  upon  the  Erie  railway. 
This  responsible  position  he  held  for  twenty-five  years  or 
.more,  up  to  September,  1874,  when  he  resigned  it  and  is  now 
successfully  engaged  in  the  lumber  manufacturing  business. 

During  his  early  years,  Mr.  BISHOP  was  a  Democrat  in 
politics;  but  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise  and 
other  indications  of  the  aggressive  designs  of  the  slave  power 
led  him  to  renounce  his  allegiance  to  that  party,  and  when 
the  Republican  party  was  formed  he  promptly  joined  it. 
Since  then  he  has  uniformly  voted  and  acted  with  the 
Republicans,  supporting  earnestly  all  the  measures  for  the 


140  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

perservation  of  the  Union  when  its  safety  was  threatened  by 
armed  treason. 

Mr.  BISHOP  has  frequently  been  honored,  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  with  important  and  responsible  trusts.  During 
five  years,  from  1865  to  1870,  he  was  Supervisor  of  the  town 
of  Owego.  He  has  also  held  the  office  of  School  Commis- 
sioner, and  in  1871  was  President  of  the  village  of  Owego. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  113,  defeat- 
ing FREDERICK  0.  CABLE,  a  popular  Democrat,  and  is. a 
member  of  the  Committees  on  Trade  and  Manufactures  and 
Joint  Library. 


ORVILLE  C.  BORDWELL. 


Mr.  BORDWELL  is  one  of  the  most  respected  and  best 
known  citizens  of  Niagara  county,  and  capably  represents 
the  Second  district  of  that  county  in  the  present  Assembly. 
His  father,  ENOCH  W.  BORDWELL,  still  living,  and  a  resident 
of  Hartland,  Niagara  county,  is  a  native  of  Yates  county. 
His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  MALAH  STEBBIN"S,  is 
of  Massachusetts  descent.  Mr.  BORDWELL'S  grandfather  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Yates  county.  He  was  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade,  and  it  is  related  of  him  that  on  one  occasion  he 
traveled  on  foot  through  the  wilderness  to  Niagara  Falls, 
where  he  helped  to  erect  the  first  building  put  up  in  the 
place. 

The  subject  of  this  notice  was  born  in  the  town  of  Potter, 
Yates  county,  on  the  13th  of  June,  1832.  He  received  a 
good  education  in  the  common  schools  during  his  youth,  and 
conceiving  a  liking  for  the  medical  profession,  he  attended 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  in  Cincinnati,  in  1859  and 
1860.  He  practiced  with  very  good  success  from  that  time 
until  1867,  but  since  then  he  has  been  engaged  in  farming 
and  fruit  growing,  occupations  which  are  congenial  to  his 


ORVILLE  C.  BORDWELL.  141 

rural  tastes,  and  from  which  he  has  reaped  an  ample  pecun- 
iary reward. 

Mr.  BOKDWELL  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  to 
whom  he  was  united  in  Royalton,  on  the  25th  of  March, 
1857,  was  SAEAH  J.  DAY,  an  estimable  lady.  She  died  in 
April,  1861,  and,  in  July,  1862,  he  married  EMMA  A. 
ELDEBKIN,  at  Lockport. 

In  politics  Mr.  BOEDWELL  has  always  been  a  Republican. 
He  has  occasionally  filled  public  positions,  and  has  generally 
been  quite  active  in  the  counsels  of  his  party,  but  he  has 
never  been  a  seeker  after  office.  In  the  year  1869  he  was 
Overseer  of  the  Poor  of  his  town.  The  next  year  he  was  a 
candidate  for  the  office  of  Supervisor,  but  was  defeated  by 
four  votes,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Democratic  board  of 
canvassers  threw  out  five  of  his  votes,  because  his  name  was 
misspelled.  At  the  present  time  he  holds  the  office  of 
Assessor,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  82,  the 
Democratic  candidate  receiving  a  majority  of  84.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  in  the  fall  of  1873,  by  a  major- 
ity of  445  over  ELTON  T.  RANSOM,  Democrat,  and  served  as 
member  of  the  Committees  on  Roads  and  Bridges  and  Agri- 
culture. Last  fall  he  was  re-elected  by  a  plurality  of  455, 
nis  opponents  being  HENEY  F.  PIEECE,  Democrat,  and  BEN- 
JAMIN S.  LOUGHLIN,  Prohibition.  In  the  present  House  he 
is  a  member  of  Roads  and  Bridges  and  Sub-Committee  of 
the  Whole. 

Mr.  BOEDWELL,  though  brought  up  in  the  Free  Will 
Baptist  persuasion,  has  never  made  a  profession  of  religion. 
He  is  a  man  of  enlarged  views  upon  all  questions.  Socially 
he  is  a  favorite  with  everybody,  and  few  men  in  the  present 
House  are  more  highly  esteemed  than  the  member  from 
Niagara. 


142  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


SHEPARD  P.  BOWEN. 


Mr.  BOWEN  comes  from  northern  New  York,  from  the 
district  (Clinton  county)  which  for  two  or  three  terms  has 
been  represented  by  Hon.  SMITH  M.  WEED.  He  was  born 
in  Canada,  March  28,  1824.  When  quite  young  his  parents 
removed  to  Troy,  Vt.,  where  his  youth  was  spent,  and  where, 
as  he  became  old  enough,  he  alternated  study  with  work 
upon,  his  father's  farm.  He  managed,  however,  to  obtain  a 
good  common  school  and  academic  education.  After  reaching 
his  majority  he  worked  on  a  farm  for  a  while,  and  afterward 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  which  he  has  since  followed 
with  success,  being  now  a  wealthy  merchant  and  iron  manu- 
facturer at  Plattsburgh. 

He  is  an  influential  and  exceedingly  active  Eepublican  of 
Clinton  county,  and  enjoys  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  having  served  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors  nearly 
continuously  from  1855  to  1857.  His  majority  over  GEOEGE 
ADGATE,  Democrat,  was  2,447,  against  a  Democratic  majority 
for  Mr.  WEED  in  1873,  of  1,245.  Such  a  change  of  votes  in 
a  single  Assembly  district  is  almost  without  precedent,  and 
it  very  clearly  indicates  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held 
by  his  constituents. 

He  is  a  member  of  State  Prisons  and  Sub-Committee  of 
the  Whole. 


DANIEL  BRADLEY.  143 


DANIEL  BRADLEY. 


Mr.  BRADLEY  is  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  but  quite 
independent  in  his  views,  and  is  a  gentleman  of  decided  force 
of  character,  as  well  as  considerable  ability.  He  resides  at 
No.  184  York  street,  Brooklyn,  and  represents  the  First  dis- 
trict of  Kings  county.  He  was  born  in  Londonderry,  Ire- 
land, March  17,  1833.  He  was  educated  mainly  in  one  of 
the  parochial  schools  in  his  native  city,  and  came  to  this 
country  when  quite  young.  After  settling  here  he  engaged 
in  the  tobacco  business,  which  he  continued  for  five  years. 
At  present  he  is  a  prosperous  dealer  in  stoves  and  tin-ware. 
He  is  well  known  in  military  circles,  having  been  for  several 
years  Captain  of  Co.  G.,  Fourteenth  Eegiment,  National 
Guard.  He  has  always  evinced  a  warm  interest  in  political 
matters,  but  has  never  before  held  an  elective  office.  In  1868, 
he  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  General  Committee  of 
Kings  county,  and  rendered  efficient  service  in  the  Presidential 
campaign  of  that  year.  In  the  Assembly  canvass  he  ran 
against  the  regular  Democratic  nominee,  JOHN"  CON^ELL, 
defeating  him  by  a  majority  of  91. 

Mr.  BRADLEY  has  been  absent  from  the  House  a  good 
deal  by  reason  of  sickness,  but  he  has  shown  that  he  posses- 
ses more  than  average  legislative  capacity,  being  a  fair 
speaker,  and  a  man  of  sound  practical  judgment. 


144  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WATERS  W.  BRAMAN. 


The  present  House  contains  very  few  more  careful  or  con- 
scientious members  than  WATERS  W.  BRAMAN,  of  West 
Troy,  Albany  county.  Though  he  is  entirely  new  to  legisla- 
tive duties,  he  has  elicited  the  praise  of  veterans  at  the  capi- 
tol,  by  the  aptitude  he  has  shown  in  mastering  the  details  of 
his  position.  Always  at  his  post  in  the  House  and  in  the 
committee  room,  he  watches  the  progress  of  legislation  with 
keen  attention,  and  often  discovers  defects  in  matters  under 
consideration  which  escape  the  scrutiny  of  older  members. 
Especially  do  the  interests  of  his  immediate  constituency, 
which  is  an  unusually  large  one,  receive  his  unremitting 
attention,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of 
measures  for  the  welfare  of  West  Troy  and  Cohoes  have  been 
initiated  since  he  has  been  in  the  Assembly.  Maj.  BRAMAN 
is  not  what  may  be  termed  a  trained  orator,  but  he  is  not  by 
any  means  a  silent  member,  being  able  to  express  his  views 
pointedly  and  briefly  when  occasion  requires.  He  is  a  man 
of  rather  commanding  appearance,  \vith  a  pleasant  face  and 
genial  manner,  and  is  in  every  respect  an  honor  to  the  dis- 
trict which  he  represents. 

WATERS  WHIPPLE  BRAMAN  was  born  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  on 
the  20th  of  April,  1840.  His  parents,  both  of  whom  are 
dead,  were  HORACE  and  CAROLINE  E.  BRAMAN",  the  maiden 
name  of  the  latter  being  WHIPPLE.  His  mother  died  when 
he  was  but  five  years  of  age,  giving  him  away  on  her  death 
bed  to  her  brother,  WATERS  W.  WHIPPLE,  of  Troy,  who  had 
been  a  father  to  her.  Mr.  WHIPPLE  faithfully  performed 
the  trust  reposed  in  him,  and  cared  for  young  BRAMAN  as 
well  as  if  he  had  been  an  own  son,  looking  after  his  educa- 
tion and  welfare  until  his  marriage,  which  took  place  in 
1865,  after  his  return  from  the  army.  Maj.  BRAMAN'S  pre- 
liminary education  was  obtained  in  a  common  school,  and 


WATERS  W.  B  RAM  AN.  145 

from  thence  he  went  to  the  Troy  High  School,  being  one  of 
the  first  scholars  admitted  into  that  institution.  Having 
obtained  an  excellent  English  education,  he  left  school  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  to  learn  the  lumber  business,  which  he 
mastered  in  all  its  branches,  and  has  continued  to  follow  up 
to  the  present  time.  In  the  year  1860  he  became  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  BELKNAP  &  BRAMAN,  lumber  dealers.  The 
war,  which  broke  out  soon  after,  aroused  his  patriotism, 
however,  and  in  the  following  year  he  sold  out  his  business 
interest  in  order  to  enter  the  army.  While  closing  up  his 
business  in  the  fall  of  1861,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Albany 
Board  for  the  examination  of  volunteer  officers.  In  the 
meantime  he  was  engaged  in  enlisting  men,  and,  on  the  7th 
of  December,  1861,  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  ser- 
vice, and  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  of  company  C,  93d 
Kegiment  N.  Y.  Vols.,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1862.  Soon 
thereafter,  he  proceeded  with  his  command  to  the  front,  and 
it  was  his  fortune  to  participate,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
in  all  the  battles  fought  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
During  his  long  and  arduous  service  he  was  never  an  inmate 
of  a  hospital.  He  was  repeatedly  struck  by  rebel  bullets,  but 
was  never  wounded  severely  enough  to  incapacitate  him 
from  duty.  In  the  Wilderness  battles  of  May  5,  6  and  7, 
1864,  he  was  hit  no  less  than  five  times.  On  the  23d  of 
March,  1864,  he  was  promoted  to  Captain  of  H  company  in 
the  same  regiment,  and  was  mustered  out,  February  14, 1865, 
by  reason  of  expiration  of  term  of  service.  On  the  17th  of 
October,  1866,  he  was  breveted  Major  for  gallant  and  meri- 
torious service,  his  muster  out  rank  being  that  of  Captain. 
Thus  is  briefly  outlined  the  main  facts  in  a  military  career 
which  was  in  every  respect  honorable  and  praiseworthy.  He 
was  a  brave  and  faithful  officer,  his  sole  ambition  being  to 
perfoi'm  his  duty  to  his  imperiled  country. 

On  laying  aside  the  sword,  at  the  close  of  the  struggle  in 
which  he  had  taken  such   an  active  part,  Major  BRAMAN 

immediately  resumed  his  old  business  pursuit.     In  the  Octo- 
19 


146  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

ber  following  his  retirement  from  the  army  he  was  married 
to  MARGARET  J.  GETTY,  at  West  Troy,  and  about  the  same 
time  became  a  member  of  the  lumber  firm  of  WATERS  W. 
WHIPPLE  &  Co.,  in  which  he  is  still  an  active  partner.  Aside 
from  this,  however,  he  at  present  carries  on  a  manufacturing 
enterprise  in  Clinton  county. 

Mr.  B  RAMAN'S  political  history  is  briefly  told.  He  cast  his 
first  vote,  by  proxy,  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  and  it  was 
cast  for  the  re-election  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Since  then 
he  has  been  an  active  Eepublican.  He  is  now  a  Trustee  of 
the  village  of  West  Troy,  but  other  than  that  and  his  present 
legislative  position,  he  has  never  held  any  elective  office.  He 
is,  however,  an  earnest  worker  in  the  Eepublican  ranks  on 
all  occasions,  and  is  a  man  of  considerable  influence  in  the 
party  councils.  In  the  Assembly  canvass  of  1873  he  had 
two  Democratic  opponents,  DANIEL  McELWAiN  and  PETER 
D.  NIVER,  whose  combined  vote  was  4,422.  Maj.  BRAMAN'S 
plurality  was  30,  the  district  being  usually  strongly  Demo- 
cratic. Last  fall  he  again  had  two  Democratic  opponents, 
GEORGE  T.  SIMMONS  and  JAMES  F.  McGuiRK,  but  he  in- 
creased his  plurality  to  373.  He  was  placed  last  year  on 
Cities,  Public  Printing  and  Expenditures  of  the  Executive 
Department,  and  is  on  the  same  committees  this  year. 


BENJAMIN  S.  BROAS. 


Mr.  BROAS,  the  representative  of  the  Second  district  of 
Dutchess  county,  was  born  in  Poughkeepsie,  September  20, 
1838.  He  is  a  son  of  WILLIAM  BROAS,  now  deceased,  who 
was  of  German  ancestry.  His  education  was  obtained  at  the 
Dutchess  County  Academy,  and  at  the  Poughkeepsie  Col- 
legiate Institute,  under  the  late  CHARLES  BARTLETT.  He 
married  at  Little  Rest,  Dutchess  county,  CATHARINE  TITUS, 
a  daughter  of  the  late  OBADIAH  TITUS,  who  represented  the 
Thirteenth  district  in  Congress  for  two  terms. 


BENJAMIN  8.  BROAS.  147 

Mr.  BROAS  entered  a  mercantile  business  in  1858,  and  con- 
tinued it  until  1867,  when  he  engaged  in  the  banking  and 
brokerage  business  in  New  York  as  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  HUTCHINSON  &  BROAS.  This  he  continued  until  1862. 
In  that  year  he  returned  to  Poughkeepsie,  and  established 
himself  in  the  same  business,  which  he  still  carries  on  very 
successfully. 

Mr.  BROAS  served  honorably  in  the  late  war.  In  1862  he 
raised  a  company  in  Col.  J.  H.  KETCHAM'S  regiment,  the 
150th  N.  Y.  V.,  and  went  to  the  front  with  the  rank  of  Cap- 
tain. He  remained  in  the  service  about  eighteen  months, 
when  he  was  compelled  to  resign  at  Normansby,  Tenn.,  on 
account  of  ill  health. 

In  politics,  Mr.  BROAS  was  a  Republican  until  1867.  In 
that  year  he  became  a  Democrat.  In  1872  he  received  the 
Democratic  nomination  for  county  Treasurer,  with  WALTER 
C.  FONDA  as  his  Republican  opponent,  and  was  supposed  to 
be  elected,  the  opposition  journals  conceding  his  success 
by  a  majority  of  between  five  and  six  hundred.  When  the 
Supervisors  met  to  canvass  the  votes,  however,  his  majority 
was  swept  away  and  the  election  given  to  his  opponent  by  a 
majority  of  34.  In  1873  he  was  nominated  for  member  of 
Assembly  against  HARVEY  Gr.  EASTMAN,  then  Mayor  of  the 
city  of  Poughkeepsie.  He  carried  every  election  district  in 
the  county,  coming  into  the  city  with  a  majority  of  431,  but 
owing  to  local  issues,  mainly  relating  to  the  new  bridge  and 
the  Poughkeepsie  and  Eastern  Railway,  in  which  Major 
EASTMAN  was  largely  interested,  he  was  defeated  by  a 
majority  of  126.  Last  fall  he  was  again  nominated,  against 
VIRGIL  C.  TRAVER,  and  carried  every  town  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Rhinebeck,  where  his  opponent  resided,  receiving 
the  handsome  majority  of  1,475.  Mr.  BROAS  is  making  a 
creditable  record  in  the  Assembly,  being  active  in  looking 
after  the  interests  of  his  constituency,  and  preserves,  in  his 
intercourse  at  Albany,  an  agreeable  courtesy  of  manners  which 
wins  him  the  friendship  of  all  who  make  his  acauaintance. 


148  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JOHN  C.  BEOGAN. 


Mr.  BROGAN  is  one  of  the  most  promising  of  the  new 
members  of  the  House,  and  capably  represents  the  Third  New- 
York  district.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  March,  1840, 
and  emigrated  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  six.  He  took  up 
his  residence  in  New  York,  where  he  obtained  a  good 
common  school  education,  and  finally  became  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  hats,  and  still  follows  that  branch  of 
industry.  He  served  with  honor  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion, 
enlisting  as  a  private  in  the  Fifth  New  York  Volunteers. 
After  two  years  service  in  the  ranks,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
Captaincy  of  Company  I,  and  on  a  number  of  occasions 
subsequently  he  was  distinguished  by  undaunted  bravery  in 
action. 

Mr.  BROGAN  is  a  thorough  Democrat,  and  gives  much  of 
his  time  and  influence  to  the  party  cause.  He  never  before 
held  a  public  position,  but  so  well  has  he  acquitted  himself 
in  the  Assembly,  that  it  is  safe  enough  to  predict  that  further 
honors  are  in  store  for  him. 

Mr.  BROGAN  stands  very  high  as  a  young  man  of  charac- 
ter and  pure  purpose,  and  seems  to  possess  all  the  qualities 
essential  to  the  efficient  law-maker.  He  has  scarce  succeeded 
as  yet  in  wearing  off  a  natural  and  excusable  diffidence  ;  but 
he  nevertheless  shows  power  and  facility  in  debate  which 
betoken  gratifying  triumphs  in  the  future. 

He  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  670,  his  opponents  being 
JAMES  J.  SLEVIJT,  Independent  Democrat,  and  THOMAS  H. 
KEILI/X,  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  committees 
on  State  Charitable  Institutions,  Expenditures  of  the  House, 
and  Engrossed  Bills. 


JAMES  C.  BROWN.  149 


JAMES  C.  BROWN. 


Mr.  BROWN  represents  the  county  of  Rockland,  and  is  a 
prominent  and  widely  esteemed  business  man  of  that  section. 
He  is  a  native  of  Otsego  county,  and  was  educated  at  Hart- 
wick  and  other  seminaries  in  that  county.  After  reaching 
his  majority  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  which  he 
has  since  followed  successfully.  He  resided  and  did  business 
in  New  York  during  a  period  of  seventeen  years.  In  Kock- 
land county  he  is  known  as  an  active  Democrat.  He  has 
never  before  held  an  elective  office,  but  in  1873  he  was 
Chairman  of  the  County  Central  Committee,  and  managed 
the  campaign  of  that  year  with  much  skill.  Owing  to  his 
personal  efforts  last  fall,  the  Democratic  majority  in  the 
county  was  materially  increased. 

Mr.  BROWN  is  a  quiet  member,  and  contents  himself  with 
faithfully  watching  and  caring  for  the  interests  of  his 
constituents.  He  is  a  member  of  the  committees  on  Insur- 
ance, Petitions  of  Aliens,  and  Federal  Eelations. 


JOHN  H.  BURTIS. 


Mr.  BURTIS  is  one  of  the  two  Republicans  in  the  Brook- 
lyn delegation,  representing  the  Fifth  district.  He  is  a 
finely  educated  gentleman,  an  excellent  debater,  a  polished 
speaker,  and  well  informed  upon  all  subjects  which  come  up 
for  legislative  action.  Hence  he  is  recognized  as  a  valuable 
member  of  the  minority.  He  was  born  in  Hoosick  Falls,  N. 
Y.,  September  5,  1832.  His  parents,  however,  removed  to 
Washington  county  when  he  was  but  five  years  of  age,  and 
consequently  his  early  life  was  spent  in  that  section  of  the 


150  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

State.  He  received  a  liberal  education,  attending  a  district 
school  until  his  eleventh  year,  and  fitting  himself  for  college 
at  Cambridge  academy.  Subsequently  he  entered  Union 
College  at  Schenectady,  and  graduated  from  that  institution 
in  the  class  of  1854.  He  intended  to  adopt  a  professional 
career,  but  an  unfortunate  partial  paralysis  of  one  of  his 
eyes  which  then  intervened,  prevented  the  realization  of  his 
hopes  in  this  respect.  After  graduating  he  spent  several 
years  in  teaching,  and  during  two  years  he  was  principal  of 
the  Cambridge  academy.  Then  he  turned  his  attention  to 
mercantile  pursuits,  which  he  has  since  followed,  being  now 
a  successful  merchant  in  New  York.  He  is  also  President 
of  the  Brooklyn  Elevated  Eailroad  Company,  and  is  largely 
identified  with  the  interests  of  the  City  of  Churches. 

Mr.  BUBTIS  has  never  before  held  an  office  of  a  political 
nature,  having  always  peremptorily  refused  honors  of  that 
character.  Last  fall  he  declined  the  Assembly  nomination, 
which  was  tendered  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  district 
convention,  and  only  consented  to  serve  after  he  had  been 
again  nominated  and  induced  to  believe  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  accept.  He  was  born  into  the  Democratic  party,  as  it  were, 
his  father  being  of  that  political  faith,  and  up  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he  acted  with  it.  He, 
however,  found  himself  unable  to  indorse  the  position  of  the 
party  on  the  union  question,  and  since  1861  he  has  been  a 
Eepublican.  In  the  late  election  he  defeated  his  Democratic 
opponent,  W.  B.  C.  THORNTON",  by  a  majority  of  884,  carry- 
ing the  Democratic  ward  of  his  district, ,  which  gave  Gov. 
TILDEN"  a  majority  of  60.  He  is  an  exceedingly  efficient 
member  of  th«  committees  on  Charitable  and  Keligious  Socie- 
ties and  Public  Education. 

Like  a  large  majority  of  those  Americans  who  achieve  suc- 
cess, Mr.  BURTIS  was  born  in  poverty,  and  worked  hard  in 
early  life  to  defray  the  expense  of  his  education.  He  there- 
fore learned  early  to  cultivate  the  qualities  of  self  reliance 
and  persevering  energy,  and  these  qualities  are  leading  fea- 


WILLIAM  E.  CALKINS.  151 

tures  of  his  character.  He  is  gifted  also  with  excellent  judg- 
ment and  a  mind  capable  of  keen  analysis,  so  that  he  is  gener- 
ally able  to  detect  the  true  bearings  of  all  questions- which 
come  before  him,  and  vote  upon  them  understandingly.  In 
debate  he  is  ever  courteous  and  refined,  never  descending  to 
personality  or  acrimonious  disputation,  while  his  short  and 
pointed  speeches  are  almost  invariably  enriched  by  humor- 
ous anecdote  and  witty  allusion.  He  enjoys  in  very  large 
measure  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-members  on  the  floor, 
friends  as  well  as  opponents. 

Mr.  BUETIS  was  married  on  the  4th  of  October,  1864,  to 
Miss  MARY  GARDINER  THOMSON,  of  New  York,  daughter 
of  JAMES  B.  THOMSON,  LL.  D.,  a  well-known  arithmetician, 
whose  text  books  are  extensively  used  in  schools. 


WILLIAM  E.  CALKINS. 


Mr.  CALKINS  is  a  Vermonter  by  birth,  but  has  resided  in 
Essex  county  during  most  of  his  life,  and  represents  that 
county  in  the  Assembly.  He  treats  all  with  whom  he  asso- 
ciates in  a  gentlemanly  manner,  and  in  the  House  is  quietly 
watchful  of  the  interest  of  his  constituents.  He  was  born 
in  Burlington,  Vt.,  December  23,  1816.  Mr.  CALKINS' 
father,  WILLIAM  CALKINS,  was  a  descendant  of  HUGH  and 
ANNIE  CALKINS,  who  came  from  Monmouth  county,  Eng- 
land, and  landed  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1 640.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Eandolph,  Vt.  and  Dartmouth  College.  He  was  a 
teacher  for  some  twenty-five  years,  laboring  in  Burlington, 
"Waterbury  and  Stowe,  Vt.,  then  teaching  school  in  Whitehall 
about  four  years,  and  finally  settling  in  Ticonderoga,  where 
he  practiced  law  until  his  death  in  1855. 

On  his  mother's  side  he  is  of  Scotch  descent,  his  maternal 
grand-father,  THOMAS  CRAIG,  having  emigrated  from  Scot- 


152  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

land,  and  settled  in  Massachusetts,  where  he  married  a 
daughter  of  JOSEPH  ALLEN",  of  Northampton.  His  mother 
is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one,  and  exceed- 
ingly active  for  a  woman  of  her  age.  Mr.  CALKINS'  wife,  to 
whom  he  was  married  in  May,  1843,  was  AMANDA  WEED, 
daughter  of  JOSEPH  WEED,  a  merchant  and  lumber  manu  • 
facturer  of  Ticonderoga. 

Until  the  age  of  sixteen,  Mr.  CALKINS  was  educated  by 
his  father.  He  was  then  bred  to  mercantile  and  general 
business  pursuits,  which  he  followed  at  Ticonderoga,  as 
clerk  and  principal  from  1832  to  1860,  with  varied  success. 
During  a  portion  of  the  time  he  was  connected  with  a  heavy 
lumber  trade.  Finally  he  purchased  some  valuable  real 
estate,  and  for  several  years  past  he  has  given  a  portion  of 
his  time  to  the  management  of  a  farm,  and  though  not 
educated  as  lawyer,  is  frequently  called  upon  to  act  as  ref- 
eree, to  settle  estates,  draw  wills,  conveyancing,  and  to  attend 
to  real  estate  matters  in  general. 

During  his  long  business  career  he  has  acquired  wide 
repute  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  high  character,  and 
has  attained  a  foremost  position  in  his  county.  During  the 
later  years  of  his  life  he  has  given  a  good  deal  of  his  time  to 
the  service  of  the  publie.  Formerly  a  Whig,  he  became  a 
Republican  on  the  formation  of  the  party,  and  has  ever 
since  acted  and  voted  with  that  organization.  The  public 
trusts  he  has  filled  have  been  numerous.  In  1843  he  was 
elected  Town  Clerk  of  Ticonderoga,  holding  the  office  three 
years,  from  1846  to  1848,  and  Inspector  of  Elections  in  1848 
and  1849.  In  1851  he  was  chosen  Supervisor,  also  in  1853, 
1854,  1858.  He  was  again  chosen  in  1873,  and  has  been  in 
the  Board  until  the  present  time,  having  been  re-elected  in  the 
recent  election.  In  the  years  1853, 1854,  1873  and  1874,  he 
was  Chairman  of  the  Board.  During  four  consecutive 
terms  he  filled  the  office  of  Coroner  of  Essex  county,  and  in 
1860  he  was  elected  County  Clerk  and  held  the  office  up  to 
1873.  Besides  the  above  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican 


WILLIAM  E.  CALKINS.  153 

State  Convention  in  1868,  an  alternate  delegate  to  the  con- 
vention which  nominated  General  GBANT  for  President, 
and  also  a  delegate  to  the  Judicial  Convention  at  Rochester, 
in  1870.  For  the  last  eight  years  he  has  been  a  Notary 
Public.  He  has  run  for  town- and  county  office  twenty-four 
times,  and  was  never  beaten. 

As  far  back  as  1842  he  served  in  the  State  Militia,  holding 
the  rank  of  Colonel.  During  the  recent  rebellion  he  was  a 
member  of  the  County  War  Committee,  and  contributed 
largely  in  money,  influence  and  active  labor  to  uphold  the 
flag.  He  has  also  been  a  leading  member  of  the  local  Agri- 
cultural Societies  of  Essex  county,  being  President  of  the 
Ticonderoga  Farmers  and  Mechanics'  Association,  and  of 
the  Essex  county  Agricultural  Society  for  several  years, 
including  in  the  latter  1873  and  1874.  Twice,  in  1871  and 
1874,  he  delivered  the  annual  address  of  the  county  society. 
-From  this  resume  it  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  CALKIHS 
has  been  in  the  public  service  nearly  continuously  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  is  to  be  said  that  at  all  times 
and  in  every  capacity  he  has  been  faithful  to  whatever  duty 
was  imposed  upon  him. 

He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  264  over 
EDWAED  F.  EDGEELT,  his  Democratic  opponent,  adding 
over  200  votes  to  the  Republican  majority  of  the  previous 
year.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Insurance  and 
Expenditures  of  the  Executive  Department.  Exceedingly 
quiet  and  unassuming  in  his  deportment,  Mr.  CALKINS 
represents  his  district  most  effectively  in  the  Assembly.  He 
shows  no  undue  anxiety  to  consume  the  time  of  the  House 
in  speech-making,  but  he  is  nevertheless  well  able  to  express 
his  sentiments  when  the  occasion  requires  such  an  expres- 
sion, and,  seldom  missing  a  session,  he  acts  and  votes  intelli- 
gently'upon  all  matters  which  come  before  him.  Whether 
at  home  or  in  the  legislative  hall,  he  is  a  man  who  is  above 
suspicion,  and  worthy  to  be  intrusted  with  the  most  import- 
ant interests. 

20 


154  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


THOMAS  C.  CAMPBELL. 


THOMAS  COOPER  CAMPBELL  represents  the  Eighteenth 
District  of  New  York  city.  He  is  a  lawyer  of  brilliant  abili- 
ties, and  occupies  a  leading  position  in  the  present  Assembly. 
He  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  debaters  on  the  side  of  the  major- 
ity, possessing  remarkable  facility  and  skill  in  the  percep- 
tion and  grouping  of  points.  Quick  to  perceive  an  advantage, 
he  is  adroit  in  turning  it  to  account,  and  no  man  on  the 
floor  is  more  ready  in  understanding  the  precise  bearing  and 
drift  of  the  complex  mutations  which  original  propositions 
oftentimes  undergo  during  a  debate.  But  while  quick  to 
discover  weak  spots  in  the  armor  of  his  antagonist,  he  is 
never  guilty  of  resorting  to  unfair  or  questionable  tactics  to 
gain  a  point.  His  conduct  is  always  governed  by  a  strict 
sense  of  honor,  and  even  when  heated  to  the  point  of  anger, 
his  inbred  courtesy  never  deserts  him.  He  is  somewhat  of 
a  terror  to  reporters,  inasmuch  as  he  speaks  with  almost 
nervous  rapidity  of  utterance,  but  his  ideas  are  so  clearly 
and  solidly  stated,  that  to  the  ordinary  listener  his  rapid 
enunciation  is  rather  desirable  than  otherwise,  as  it  gives  to 
his  sentences,  which  are  sometimes  quite  long,  and  involved 
with  extended  parenthetical  clauses,  the  effect,  as  it  were, 
of  a  series  of  mind  photographs.  Mr.  CAMPBELL  also  pos- 
sesses an  excellent  judgment,  is  thoroughly  posted  with 
regard  to  the  public  questions  of  the  day,  well  versed  in 
legal  and  general  knowledge,  and  is  completely  equipped 
in  all  that  goes  to  constitute  the  efficient  legislator. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  was  born  in  Albany,  August  26, 1845.  He 
is  a  son  of  ALLAN  CAMPBELL,  of  New  York,  and  a  grandson 
of  ARCHIBALD  CAMPBELL,  of  Albany,  who  filled  the  office 
of  Deputy  Secretary  of  State  during  a  period  of  forty  years. 
He  had  the  benefit  of  a  most  liberal  course  of  education. 
Commencing  in  the  Albany  Academy  about  the  usual  age,  he 


TSOMAS  C.  CAMPBELL.  155 

soon  obtained  the  essential  rudimentary  knowledge,  and  after- 
ward entered  the  Columbia  College  Grammar  School,  New 
York,  and  was  for  a  time  there  under  the  tuition  of  that 
eminent  scholar,  the  late  Professor  CHARLES  ANTHON.  He 
then  passed  through  a  course  of  study  at  Columbia  College, 
and  graduated  with  honor  in  1865,  his  twentieth  year.  After 
this  he  went  to  Europe  and  completed  his  studies  at  the 
Berlin  University.  On  his  return  he  entered  the  office  of 
WILLIAM  M.  EVAETS  as  a  law  student,  and  after  a  period  of 
diligent  application,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  For  several 
years  past  he  has  been  engaged  in  legal  practice,  and  has 
already  gained  excellent  repute  among  the  members  of  the 
metropolitan  bar. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  has  always  acted  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  is  ardent  and  even  enthusiastic  in  the  advocacy 
of  its  principles.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Tweed  ring,  and  generally  has  labored  earnestly  in 
behalf  of  reform  and  good  government.  About  a  year  since 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Tammany  Hall  General  Com- 
mittee, and  was  counsel  for  Tammany  in  the  recent  prose- 
cution of  Police  Commissioners  CHAELICK  and  GARDNER. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Tammany  Society.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  161  over  BERNARD 
BIGLIN,  Eepublican,  who  has  twice  represented  the  district. 
He  serves  on  the  important  Committees  on  Banks  and  Gen- 
eral Laws.  During  the  discussion  of  the  General  Savings 
Bank  Bill,  he  effectively  seconded  the  eiforts  of  Mr.  SCHUY- 
LER  in  its  behalf. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  rarely  misses  a  session  of  the  House.  He 
habitually  gives  close  attention  to  every  detail  of  legislation, 
and  is  especially  watchful  of  the  interests  of  the  metropolis. 
No  member  of  the  present  House  will  make  a  better  record, 
on  the  whole,  than  the  representative  of  the  Eighteenth 
District. 


156  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


TIMOTHY  J.  CAMPBELL. 


The  pleasant  face  of  the  genial  and  popular  member  from 
the  Sixth  district  of  New  York  is  as  familiar  to  the  regular 
habitu'es  of  the  capitol  as  is  the  appearance  of  the  venerable 
pile  itself.  Though  he  missed  last  year,  he  boasts  a  longer 
continuous  service  than  any  other  member  except  Mr. 
HUSTED,  and  with  him  he  ranks  even  in  point  of  consecutive 
years.  Mr..ALVOKD  shows  a  longer  roll  of  service,  but  it  is 
not  continuous.  Though  he  ranks  as  to  age  with  the 
younger  members,  his  long  experience  and  close  habits  of 
observation  have  rendered  him  an  adroit  politician.  He 
sprang  from  Scottish-Irish  ancestry,  and  unites  the  firmness, 
persistence  and  frankness  of  the  Scotch  character,  with  the 
characteristic  humor,  hearty  friendship  and  unswerving 
fidelity  of  the  Irish.  With  a  nature  combined  with  such 
sterling  qualities,  it  is  not  strange  that  Mr.  CAMPBELL  has 
troops  of  friends  in  the  metropolis  and  elsewhere. 

Born  in  the  county  of  Cavan,  Ireland,  in  January,  1840, 
young  CAMPBELL  was  brought  to  New  York  by  his  parents, 
when  he  was  but  five  years  old.  At  suitable  age,  he  was 
placed  at  a  common  school,  where  he  remained  until  the  age 
of  12.  His  parents  were  in  straightened  circumstances,  how- 
ever, and  this  fact,  as  well  as  his  restless  and  ambitious 
spirit,  impelled  him  to  seek  a  means  by  which  to  earn  his 
own  livelihood.  Leaving  school,  therefore,  before  he  had 
fully  realized  its  benefits,  he  entered  a  printing  office.  By 
his  own  act,  as  well  as  by  the  necessities  of  the  case,  he  was 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  and,  under  the  tuition  of 
stern  necessity,  he  learned  the  habits  of  industry  and  self- 
reliance  which  have  brought  him  to  his  present  position- 
Always  watchful  and  studious,  he  availed  himself  fully  of 
the  many  opportunities  for  acquiring  general  knowledge 


TIMOTHY  J.  CAMPBELL.  157 

afforded  by  a  printing  office,  gradually  making  up  for  early 
deficiencies  in  book  learning  by  attending  evening  schools. 
He  also  joined  a  debating  club,  gaining,  by  active  participa- 
tion in  its  discussions,  that  familiarity  with  parliamentary 
practice,  and  with  the  social  and  political  topics  of  the  day, 
which  has  since  been  very  valuable  to  him.  In  the  mean- 
time he  passed  through  all  the  grades  of  the  printer's  craft, 
from  the  fly  boy  of  the  press  to  general  office  manager.  On 
completing  his  apprenticeship,  he  worked  several  years  at  the 
trade,  serving  in  several  job  offices  in  New  York,  and  also 
in  the  various  newspaper  offices,  including  the  Herald, 
Express  and  News. 

During  a  portion  of  the  year  1860,  while  portentous  war- 
clouds  were  rolling  up  from  the  southern  horizon,  Mr. 
CAMPBELL  sojourned  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  was  connected 
with  the  office  of  the  Despatch  of  that  city.  He  returned  to 
New  York,  however,  before  the  storm  burst  upon  the  coun- 
try, and  has  since  resided  there,  serving  during  several  years 
as  a  clerk  in  the  county  clerk's  office. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  has  for  a  number  of  years  past  been  active 
in  metropolitan  politics,  his  ability  as  a  local  manager 
securing  him  a  position  as  chairman  of  his  district  on  the 
Tammany  Ward  Committee,  which  he  still  holds.  He  has 
always  been  a  steadfast  adherent  of  the  Tammany  wing  of 
the  Democracy,  and  so  popular  has  he  been  in  his  Assembly 
district,  that,  during  all  the  mutations  of  politics  in  New 
York,  no  serious  inroad  has  ever  been  made  in  the  bulk  of 
the  majority  by  which  he  is  regularly  returned  to  the 
Assembly. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  was  a  member  of  the  fire  department  in 
the  good  old  days  of  the  "volunteer"  system.  In  that 
capacity  he  was  behind  none  in  enthusiasm  and  daring. 

He  is  now  serving  his  seventh  term  as  a  member  of  the 
House,  having  been  first  elected  in  1867.  During  his  first 
year  of  service,  he  acted  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Koads  and  Bridges,  and  a  member  of  Internal  Affairs.  Since 


158  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

then  he  has  served  several  years  on  Cities,  and  also  on  Peti- 
tions of  Aliens  and  State  Charitable  Institutions. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  is  a  man  of  medium  size,  compactly  built, 
well  proportioned,  and  quite  prepossessing  in  appearance. 


WILLIAM  H.  CHRISTOPHER. 


Capt.  CHRISTOPHER  needs  very  little  introduction  to  our 
readers.  Those  who  have  had  occasion  to  make  an  occa- 
sional night  boat  trip  between  Albany  and  New  York,  are 
familiar  with  his  benign  countenance  as  commander  of  the 
People's  Line  Steamers,  and  have  had  personal  experience  of 
his  thoughtful  care  for  their  comfort.  Few  river  captains,  it 
may  be  said,  have  earned  the  gratitude  and  regard  of  the 
traveling  public  in  greater  degree  than  Capt.  CHRISTOPHER, 
and  none  can-  boast  more  honorable  or  faithful  service  in 
that  capacity. 

He  was  born  in  Hunterdon  county,  N.  J.,  on  the  12th  of 
October,  1807.  He  received  a  good  education  in  the  New 
Jersey  common  schools,  and,  during  the  early  years  of  his 
manhood,  he  followed  several  avocations.  He  finally  engaged 
in  river  navigation,  gained  a  reputation  as  a  careful  and  com- 
petent officer,  as  well  as  a  whole-souled,  genial  gentleman, 
and,  as  a  result,  he  has  for  many  years  been  the  favorite  com- 
mander of  the  huge  floating  palaces  of  the  Hudson.  Though 
always  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  Capt.  CHRISTOPHER 
has  never  mingled  much  in  politics  —  indeed,  the  strifes  and 
ambitions  of  party  rivalry  have  been  foreign  to  his  nature. 
He  has  always,  nevertheless,  held  decided  opinions  with  refer- 
ence to  the  questions  of  the  day,  and  his  vote  and  influence 
have  invariably  been  given  conscientiously  in  accordance  with 
his  convictions.  Though  he  has  reached  a  somewhat  advanced 
age,  his  present  service  in  the  Assembly  is  his  first  experience 
in  official  life.  Last  fall,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his 


WILLIAM  H.  CLARK.  159 

friends,  he  consented  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Assembly, 
and,  though  a  very  popular  Eepublican  —  Hon.  HAMILTON 
FISH,  Jr.  —  ran  against  him,  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
163.  He  is  Chairman  of  Civil  Divisions,  and  member  of 
Commerce  and  Navigation,  and  Sub-committee  of  the  Whole. 
Though  he  says  little  upon  the  floor,  he  is  one  of  the  most 
attentive  of  members  during  the  sessions,  and  performs  his 
manifold  duties  intelligently  and  efficiently. 


WILLIAM  H.  CLARK. 


The  First  District  of  Wayne  county  is  represented  by 
WILLIAM  HEERMAHS  CLARK,  who  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Lyons,  in  that  county,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1848.  He 
is  the  older  son  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  CLAKK,  State  Senator 
from  the  Wayne  and  Cayuga  district  in  1854-5,  and  Chair- 
man of  the  Judiciary  Committee.*  On  the  side  of  his  father, 
Mr.  CLARK  is  of  English  and  Welsh  deseen-t.  Both  of  his 
paternal  great-grandfathers  served  with  credit  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  On  the  side  of  his  mother,  he  is  a  descendant 
of  the  early  Dutch  settlers  of  this  State,  and  has  also  a  slight 
intermixture  of  German  blood.  His  mother's  father,  Col. 
WM.  P.  HEERMANS,  represented  Rensselaer  county  in  the 
Legislature,  in  1829,  and  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
largest  manufacturers  in  the  State.  Mr.  CLARK  received  his 
early  education  at  the  excellent  union  school  in  his  native 
village,  making  such  use  of  its  advantages  that,  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  he  entered  the  Sophomore  Class  in  Hamilton 
College.  He  remained  at  Hamilton  one  year  and  then 
entered  the  Junior  Class  in  Union  College;  from  which 
institution  he  graduated  in  1868.  His  college  course  was  a 
most  brilliant  and  successful  one.  At  the  close  of  his  junior 
year  at  Union,  he  received  the  second  prize  for  oratory,  and 


160  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

at  graduation  was  awarded  the  "  Warner  Prize  "  for  "  reach- 
ing the  highest  standing  in  the  performance  of  collegiate 
duties,  and  at  the  same  time  sustaining  the  best  character 
for  moral  rectitude  and  deportment ; "  the  "  Ingham  Prize  " 
for  the  best  essay  on  the  "  "Writings  of  John  Milton,"  and 
one  of  the  two  prizes  awarded  to  members  of  his  class  who 
presented  the  best  essays  on  English  literature  on  subjects 
previously  assigned ;  he  also  received  honorable  mention  from 
the  committee  awarding  the  "  Blatchford  Medals "  to  the 
two  members  of  the  graduating  class  who  delivered  the  best 
orations.  The  total  amount  in  prizes,  distributed  to  his 
class  at  graduation,  was  $210,  of  which  the  prizes  awarded 
to  Mr.  CLAEK  represented  $130,  and  were  more  in  number 
than  have  been  awarded  to  any  other  student  at  any  com- 
mencement since  the  college  was  founded.  In  1871,  he  was 
invited  by  the  Faculty  to  deliver  the  Master's  Oration  on 
commencement  day,  and  represented  his  class  on  that 
occasion. 

Eeturning  home  from  college,  after  a  brief  period  of  rest 
and  recreation,  he  began  tlie  study  of  law  in  his  father's 
office,  and  in  December  of  the  following  year  (1869)  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was  soon  after  taken  into  partner- 
ship with  his  father,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  his  native  place. 

In  politics,  Mr.  CLAEK  is  an  ardent  Republican,  and  has 
done  his  party  good  service  with  voice  and  pen.  He 
stumped  Wayne  county  in  1870  and  1872,  and  was 
regarded  by  the  Eepublican  Committee  as  one  of  their 
most  effective  and  interesting  speakers.  He  has  also 
delivered  addresses  and  orations  on  various  occasions, 
and  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  press,  evinc- 
ing a  taste  and  capacity  for  journalism,  which  could 
scarcely  have  failed  of  making  him  distinguished  in 
that  profession  had  he  chosen  it.  His  present  office  is  the 
first  which  he  has  ever  held.  He  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  101  after  the  hardest  fought  contest  ever  known  in  his 


WILLIAM  H.  CLARK.  161 

district.  The  district  is  in  reality  Kepublican,  yet,  in  1873, 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  member  was  elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  285,  and  in  the  last  campaign  a  most  determined 
effort  was  made  to  retain  the  advantage  thus  gained. 

Though  the  youngest  of  the  members  (save  one),  Mr.  CLARK 
has  taken  a  most  creditable  position  in  the  House.  He 
serves  with  acceptance  on  the  committees  on  Commerce  and 
Navigation,  and  on  Public  Lands,  is  regular  and  faithful  in 
his  attendance  upon  his  legislative  duties,  is  vigilant  in 
watching  the  interests  of  his  constituents,  and,  though  not 
given  to  continual  talking,  is  always  ready  to  take  the  floor 
when  occasion  demands.  Shortly  after  the  disturbances  at- 
tending the  meeting  of  the  Louisiana  legislature  in  January 
of  the  present  year,  he  delivered  in  the  Assembly  a  some- 
what lengthy  and  very  able  speech  on  national  questions. 
This  speech  was  published  in  full  in  some  of  the  leading  Re- 
publican journals  of  the  State  —  receiving  the  highest 
encomiums  from  the  Republican  press  and  party,  and  adding 
to  the  reputation  he  already  enjoyed  as  a  forcible  and  finished 
writer  and  speaker. 

In  person  Mr.  CLARK  is  quite  tall,  standing  over  six  feet, 
well  proportioned,  and  of  prepossessing  countenance.  He 
is  modest  and  unassuming  in  manners,  and  socially,  is  genial 
and  companionable.  A  gentleman  of  fine  accomplishments 
and  the  highest  character,  he  unites  with  these,  energy,  in- 
dustry and  a  conscientious  thoroughness  in  the  performance 
of  whatever  he  undertakes.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  in  his  native  place  and  is  unmarried. 

21 


162  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM  V.  CLEARY. 


Mr.  CLEARY,  a  young  and  active  Democrat,  represents,  for 
the  third  term,  the  city  of  Troy,  where  he  has  resided  all 
his  life,  and  for  several  years  past  nas  been  identified  with  its 
business  interests.  Born  in  Troy  on  the  12th  of  September, 
1847,  he  is  still  quite  a  young  man,  but  he  takes  naturally 
to  political  life,  and  occupies  quite  a  prominent  position  in 
the  local  councils  of  his  party.  His  father,  KYRAN  CLEARY, 
who  died  in  1861,  at  the  age  of  45,  was  also  active  in  politics 
and  was  once  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  The 
younger  CLEARY  received  a  good  education  in  the  common 
schools,  and  was  brought  up  in  the  business  followed  by  his 
father,  the  manufacture  of  ale  and  porter,  and  on  his  father's 
death,  he  took  sole  charge  of  his  large  establishment,  con- 
ducting it  with  success  up  to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  CLEARY  has  already  held  a  number  of  positions  in  the 
gift  of  his  party.  During  two  terms  he  occupied  a  seat  in 
the  Troy  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  was  chosen  unanimously 
at  his  last  election.  In  1870  he  was  President  of  the  Board 
of  Common  Council,  and  filled  the  position  satisfactorily  to 
the  people,  and  with  credit  to  himself.  Three  years  ago  he 
was  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  Central  Committee.  He 
was  elected  to  the  Assembly  of  1873  by  a  majority  of  1,485> 
over  DENNIS  O'LOUGHLIN,  an  independent  candidate,  and 
served  in  that  body  on  the  Committees  on  Trade  and  Manu- 
factures and  Federal  Relations.  In  the  last  House,  to  which 
he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  881,  over  EGBERT  B.  RANKIN, 
a  popular  Republican,  he  served  on  the  Committees  on 
Trade  and  Manufactures  and  Indian  Affairs,  and  in  the  pres- 
ent House,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  the  largely  increased 
majority  of  1,510  over  JOSEPH  EQOLF,  Republican,  he  serves 
on  the  Committees  on  Cities,  Privileges  and  Elections,  and 


MICHAEL  COFFEY.  163 

Trade  and  Manufactures,  and  is  Chairman  of  the  latter.  He 
is  not  particularly  distinguished  as  a  public  speaker,  but  he 
watches  closely  the  interests  of  his  constituents.  Young, 
vigorous,  intelligent  and  capable,  Mr.  CLEABT  evidently  has 
a  bright  future  before  him.  He  is  still  unmarried,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 


MICHAEL  COFFEY. 


Mr.  COFFEY,  who  is  serving  his  second  term  from  the 
Third  district  of  Kings  county,  is  a  young  man  of  energy 
and  ability,  who  wields  considerable  influence  in  Brooklyn 
politics,  especially  in  the  ward  in  which  he  resides.  He  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  1843,  and  received  a  good  education  in 
the  common  schools.  From  1861- to  1864  he  was  in  the 
naval  service  of  the  United  States,  and  during  a  por- 
tion of  the  time  since  his  discharge  has  been  a  liquor  dealer 
in  Brooklyn.  He  served  continuously  in  the  Brooklyn 
Board  of  Aldermen  from  1868  to  1872,  being  elected  each 
year  against  five  opponents.  He  was  nominated  by  the 
Democrats  in  the  fall  of  1873,  and  chosen  to  the  Assembly 
by  a  unanimous  vote,  which  is  certainly  the  strongest  evi- 
dence of  popularity  that  could  be  afforded.  Last  fall  he 
was  re-elected  by  a  plurality  of  1,165,  PHILIP  CLAKE,  Inde- 
pendent, and  A.  E.  MASTERS,  Republican,  being  his  oppo- 
nents. He  served  on  the  Committees  on  Claims  and  Public 
Health,  and  this  year  he  is  Chairman  of  Claims,  and  mem- 
ber of  Railroads.  Mr.  COFFEY  possesses  many  of  those 
qualities  which  win  popular  regard,  and  evidently  has  a  suc- 
cessful political  future  before  him.  In  religious  faith  he  is 
a  Roman  Catholic. 


164  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


RICHARD  D.  COLE. 


Mr.  COLE,  representing  the  First  district  of  Monroe 
county,  was  born  in  Mendon,  in  the  same  county,  June  27, 
1837,  and  has  all  his  life  lived  in  the  district. .  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  and  Rochester  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute. He  is  a  farmer  of  intelligence  and  industry,  and  also 
deals  quite  largely  in  country  produce,  doing  business  in 
Kochester.  He  has  always  been  a  consistent  Democrat,  and, 
in  whatever  position  he  has  been  placed,  he  has  never  failed 
to  acquit  himself  faithfully.  For  four  years  in  succession, 
from  1867  to  1870,  he  represented  his  town,  Irondequoit,  in 
the  Board  of  Supervisors.  In  1871,  he  was  a  member  of 
Assembly,  being  elected  by  a  handsome  majority  over  the 
Republican  nominee,  although  the  Eepublican  State  ticket 
received  a  majority  in  the  district  of  nearly  500.  In  last 
fall's  canvass,  he  was  chosen  by  a  majority  of  145  over  GEO. 
A.  Goss,  who  represented  the  district  in  1872, 1873  and  1874. 
Mr.  COLE  is  recognized  wherever  he  is  known  as  an  honest 
and  upright  man,  and  he  certainly  fully  sustains  that  char- 
acter by  his  service  at  the  State  capitol. 


ARTEMAS  W.  COMSTOCK. 


Niagara  county  is  represented  by  excellent  men  in  both 
districts.  Mr.  COMSTOCK,  of  the  First  District,  is  a  substan- 
tial farmer  and  extensive  dairyman,  residing  near  Lockport. 
He  is  a  gentleman  of  high  character  and  pure  motives,  and 
in  short,  precisely  such  a  man  as  an  intelligent  New  York 
constituency  should  send  to  the  Legislature.  He  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Cambria  on  the  15th  of  December,  1827.  His 


ARTEMAS  W.  COMSTOCK.  165 

father,  THOMAS  COMSTOCK,  was  a  Rhode  Island  farmer,  in 
comfortable  circumstances,  who,  soon  after  his  marriage  to 
TRYPHANA  CARPENTER,  of  Pennsylvania,  settled  in  Nia- 
gara connty  and  purchased  of  the  Holland  Land  Company 
the  farm  in  Cambria  which  the  son  now  occupies.  He  died 
in  1864.  Young  COMSTOCK  enjoyed  ample  educational  op- 
portunities during  his  youth,  attending  the  common  schools, 
and  also  the  academy  at  Yates  Center,  Orleans  county.  On 
completing  his  education  he  wisely  chose  his  father's  pursuit, 
and  succeeding  to  the  paternal  estate,  he  now  owns  a  fine 
farm  of  370  acres,  lying  adjacent  to  the  New  York  Central 
railroad,  about  four  miles  from  Lockport. 

Mr.  COMSTOCK  has  always  felt  a  warm  interest  in  the 
political  movements  of  the  day,  giving  to  his  party  earnest 
counsel  and  active  co-operation.  He  commenced  his  politi- 
cal life  as  a  Whig,  and  when  the  Eepublican  party  came  into 
existence  he  promptly  identified  himself  with  it,  and  was,  in 
fact,  one  of  its  active  organizers.  In  1863  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Niagara  county  Board  of  Supervisors,  serving, 
except  during  an  interval  of  one  year,  until  1868.  He  was 
thus  a  member  of  the  Board  during  two  of  the  war  years. 
He  felt  strongly  in  reference  to  the  issues  which  divided  the 
country  during  those  memorable  years,  but  not  being  in  a 
position  to  go  to  the  front  himself,  he  sent  a  substitute  who 
served  during  the  war. 

Mr.  COMSTOCK,  now  serving  his  second  term,  has  been 
nominated  on  both  occasions  with  gratifying  unanimity. 
His  life-long  residence  in  the  county,  his  spotless  character, 
and  his  sterling  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  render  him  in 
all  respects  a  fitting  representative  of  a  constituency  which 
habitually  sends  to  the  Assembly  men  much  above  the  aver- 
age. He  was  elected  in  1873  by  a  majority  of  686  over  IRA 
FARNSWORTH,  a  prominent  and  able  Democrat,  his  vote  be- 
ing some  385  in  excess  of  that  received  by  the  Republican 
State  ticket,  and  re-elected  by  a  majority  of  878,  R.  M. 
SKEELS,  Democrat,  and  J.  W.  G-ROSVENOR,  Prohibition,  be- 


166  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

ing  his  opponents.  He  was  a  member  last  year  of  the  Com- 
mittees on  Banks  and  Manufacture  of  Salt,  and  this  year  of 
those  on  Claims  and  Banks. 

Mr.  COMSTOCK  was  married  on  the  10th  of  March,  1857, 
to  Miss  EVELINE  FOKSYTH,  of  Lockport,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church  at  Cambria. 


JAMES  E.  COOKE. 


Mr.  COOKE  is  a  well-known  banker  of  Morris,  Otsego 
county,  and  is  serving  his  first  term  in  the  Assembly.  He  is 
a  gentleman  of  much  ability  and  character,  and  capably 
represents  his  district  at  Albany.  He  was  born  in  German, 
Chenango  county,  July  16,  1837,  and  is  therefore  in  the 
early  prime  of  manhood,  and  probably  at  the  threshold  of  a 
successful  and  brilliant  political  career.  His  father,  JASON 
COOKE,  now  deceased,  was  a  reputable  citizen  of  Otsego 
county,  and  followed  agricultural  pursuits  during  most  of 
his  life. 

Young  COOKE  received  a  good  common-school  education, 
and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  an  early  age,  being  for 
several  years  a  merchant  at  Morris.  At  present  he  is  engaged 
in  banking.  He  is  a  Democrat,  but,  beyond  serving  in  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  in  1873,  he  never  before  held  office. 
He  was  married  April  23,  1864,  to  VICTORINE  MOOKE,  of 
Morris.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Charitable 
and  Eeligious  Societies,  Militia  and  Engrossed  Bills. 


THOMAS  COSTIOAN.  167 


THOMAS  COSTIQAN. 


Mr.  COSTIGAN,  who  represents  the  Fifteenth  district  of 
New  York  city,  and  has  taken  a  very  prominent  part  during 
the  session  in  legislation  affecting  the  metropolis,  is  a  native 
of  Queens  county,  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  March  9, 
1843.  His  father,  THOS.  COSTIGAN,  now  deceased,  was  an 
extensive  farmer  in  Ireland,  and  for  many  years  held  the 
office  of  guardian  of  his  parish,  a  position  equivalent  to  our 
supervisors  of  towns.  He  was  educated  first  at  the  National 
schools  of  Ireland,  and  subsequently  at  the  Queen's  Uni- 
versity, G-alway,  where  he  graduated  with  first  honors  in 
1863.  He,  however,  found  that  the  legal  profession,  for 
which  his  parents  designed  him,  was  greatly  overcrowded, 
and  he  attached  himself  to  the  newspaper  press.  For  three 
or  four  years  subsequently  he  filled  several  responsible  edito- 
rial and  reportorial  positions  on  Irish  newspapers,  displaying 
marked  talent  and  aptitude  for  journalistic  work.  In  1867, 
he  sought  a  wider  field,  and  came  to  New  York,  where,  for 
the  past  several  years,  he  has  been  connected  at  different 
times  with  nearly  all  the  leading  journals.  During  his 
career  on  the  New  York  press,  he  has  established  a  reputa- 
tion as  a  polished  and  forcible  writer,  being  especially  strong 
on  political  topics.  In  addition  to  his  journalistic  labors,  he 
also  devoted  some  time  to  the  practice  of  the  law. 

Since  his  residence  in  this  country,  Mr.  COSTIGAN"  has 
been  a  firm  Democrat.  At  the  outset  of  the  ring  difficulties, 
he  took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  reform  within  the  party, 
and  cautioned  his  fellow-citizens  against  being  inveigled  into 
the  Republican  ranks  under  the  specious  cry  of  reform.  His 
advice  was  disregarded  for  a  time,  but  with  years  the  convic- 
tion came  to  the  Democratic  leaders  that  his  policy  was  the 
true  one  for  the  party  to  follow,  and,  in  recognition  of  his 


168  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

foresight  and  of  the  correctness  of  his  views,  he  was  nomi- 
nated and  elected  to  the  Assembly  with  great  unanimity, 
being  the  candidate  of  the  reorganized  Tammany  Hall,  with 
which  he  is  now  identified.  In  the  Assembly,  he  has  become 
famous  as  the  author  of  the  "  Costigan  Bill,"  which  sought 
to  regulate  the  powers  of  the  mayor  over  heads  of  depart- 
ments and  other  city  officers.  The  bill  attracted  very  great 
attention  and  discussion,  and  probably  elicited  more  deter- 
mined opposition  than  any  other  bill  before  the  present 
legislature. 

Mr.  COSTIGAN  was  married  in  Ireland,  in  1867,  to  MAET 
GEE.  He  is  a  good  representative  of  the  educated  Irish  gen- 
tleman, being  chivalrous,  whole-souled,  generous  to  a  fault, 
brilliant  in  conversation,  quick  to  resent  or  condemn  a  wrong, 
and  a  genial,  entertaining  companion.  He  is  constantly  in 
his  seat  in  the  House,  and,  though  not  often  upon  his  feet, 
occasionally  takes  effective  part  in  the  debates  on  New 
York  city  matters.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Insurance  and  Public  Printing. 


HENRY  J.  DAGGETT. 


The  Third  district  of  Oswego  county  is  represented  this 
year  by  HENRY  JEFFERSON  DAGGETT,  a  prominent  .Repub- 
lican of  the  town  of  New  Haven.  He  was  born  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  August  16,  1827,  and  is  therefore  in  the  vigorous 
prime  of  life.  He  has  had  large  experience  among  men,  and 
is  an  able  and  judicious  legislator,  doing  the  work  before 
him  quietly  and  effectively.  Both  his  parents,  HENRY  and 
MARY  DAGGETT,  were  natives  of  Boston,  and  are  now  de- 
ceased. He  was  taught  at  the  public  schools  at  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  and  at  the  Academy  and  High  School  at  Os- 
wego, and  obtained  a  good  English  education.  He  is  now 
engaged  in  farming,  but  for  twenty  years  he  has  navigated 


JAMES  DALY.  169 

the  Western  lakes,  and  at  different  times  has  owned  a  num- 
ber of  large  class  sailing  vessels.  In  politics  he  has  never 
been  other  than  a  straightforward  earnest  Republican,  be- 
ing content  as  a  rule  to  labor  in  the  ranks.  For  the  past 
three  years,  however,  he  has  occupied  a  seat  in  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  of  Oswego  county,  and  was  re-elected  at  the  last 
town  election  (1875.)  In  the  House  he  serves  on  the  Com- 
mittees on  Commerce  and  Navigation,  and  Sub-Committee 
of  the  Whole. 

He  was  married  in  1860,  to  FBANCES  L.  HOLLY,  of  New 
Haven,  N.  Y.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  being  well  advanced  in  the  degrees,  believes  in  a 
Supreme  Being,  but  is  connected  with  no  particular  religious 
denomination,  and  is  in  every  respect  an  upright  and  worthy 
citizen,  one  who  cannot  fail  to  reflect  honor  upon  his  con- 
stituency. 


JAMES  DALY. 


Mr.  DALY  represents  the  Fourteenth  district  of  New  York 
city,  and  ranks  as  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  metropo- 
litan delegation.  He  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was 
born  about  the  year  1843.  His  parents,  still  living,  belong 
to  the  agricultural  class  in  the  old  country.  He  received 
an  excellent  collegiate  education,  and  was  at  first  intended 
for  holy  orders,  but  though  he  is  a  consistent  Roman  Catho- 
lic, his  mind  took  another  bent,  and  since  the  completion  of 
his  studies  he  has  been  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  He 
did  not  identify  himself  very  prominently  with  politics  until 
the  year  1870,  when  he  joined  the  Reform  movement  inau- 
gurated in  New  York  that  year,  the  object  of  which  was  the 
overthrow  of  the  corrupt  Tammany  regime.  He  threw  him- 
self into  this  movement  with  a  good  .deal  of  enthusiasm,  and 
rendered  efficient  aid  to  those  who  were  caraying  on  the  good 

work.     He  held  no  political  office,  however,  until  he  was 
22 


170  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

ohosen  member  of  Assembly,  in  1873,  by  a  plurality  of  636, 
and  last  fall  was  re-elected  by  a  plurality  of  849. 

Mr.  DALY'S  career  upon  the  floor  of  the  Assembly  has 
shown  that  he  possesses  unusual  ability.  Modest  and  unas- 
suming in  deportment,  he  is  an  extremely  clear  and  forcible 
speaker,  and  his  efforts  are  usually  embellished  with  much 
oratorical  grace.  He  speaks  with  studied  carefulness,  and 
uses  well  chosen  and  exceedingly  appropriate  language.  He 
attracted  attention  in  the  early  portion  of  the  last  session  by 
his  championship  of  the  bill  to  settle  the  vexed  question 
relative  to  the  powers  of  the  common  council  and  certain 
departments  over  public  works.  During  the  present  session 
he  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  majority 
on  the  floor,  and  in  that  capacity  he  evinces  much  judgment 
and  circumspection.  Last  year  he  served  on  Charitable  and 
Eeligious  Societies,  and  Trade  and  Manufactures,  and  this 
year  he  is  Chairman  of  Cities,  and  member  of  Ways  and 
Means,  and  Rules. 


EMERSON  E.  DAVIS. 


Mr.  DAVIS  is  a  conceded  representative  of  the  commercial 
interests  of  the  State.  He  is  largely  engaged  in  the  lumber 
and  transportation  business  in  Whitehall ;  and,  though  a 
Democrat,  has  been  twice  elected  by  a  decided  majority  from 
a  strong  Republican  district.  No  man  in  the  State,  perhaps, 
is  better  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  the  canals,  or  the 
intricacies  of  their  management,  than  Mr.  DAVIS.  He  has 
made  the  transportation  problem  the  study  of  the  larger 
portion  of  his  lifetime,  and,  just  at  this  time,  when  that 
question  is  attracting  unwonted  attention,  his  presence  in 
the  Assembly  may  be  deemed  fortunate  for  the  people  of  the 
State.  During  the  debate-  in  the  last  Assembly  upon  the 


EMERSON  E.  DAVIS.  171 

proposed  Fifth  Article  of  the  Constitution,  he  took  decided 
ground  in  favor  of  it,  mainly  because  it  would  place  the 
appointment  of  the  Canal  Commissioners  in  the  hands  of 
the  Governor,  and  thus  do  away  with  the  existing  irrespon- 
sibility and  clashing  of  authority. 

He  also  submitted  and  warmly  advocated  a  bill  abolishing 
the  office  of  superintendent  of  canal  repairs,  giving  to  each 
canal  commissioner  entire  control  over  his  own  division,  and 
embodying  other  important  reforms.  The  bill  aroused  bitter 
opposition,  and  failed  in  the  Senate  after  passing  the  Assem- 
bly. In  the  course  of  his  extended  arguments  in  its  behalf, 
Mr.  DAVIS  made  a  scathing  arraignment  of  derelict  canal 
officials,  and  presented  a  startling  exhibit  of  the  mismanage- 
ment connected  with  the  existing  system  of  canal  lettings. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  session  he  promptly  re- 
opened his  apparently  hopeless  warfare  by  again  introduc- 
ing his  bill,  but  it  met,  at  first,  with  as  little  favor  as  before. 
He,  however,  made  quiet  preparation  for  the  approaching  onset 
against  the  Canal  Ring,  and  extended  important  aid  in  the 
procurement  and  arrangement  of  the  facts  embodied  in  the 
Governor's  Canal  Message.  The  effect  and  result  of  that 
message  are  familiar  to  the  public.  Ample  credit  is  and 
should  be  given  to  Governor  TILDES  for  his  bold  and 
trenchant  exposure  of  the  shameful  frauds  which  are  now 
subjects  of  investigation,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
Mr.  DAVIS  was  very  largely  instrumental  in  originating  the 
movement.  His  speeches  of  last  winter  furnished  the 
ground  work  of  the  Executive  document,  and  it  is  but  jus- 
tice to  Mr.  DAVIS  to  say  that  those  speeches  have  been  sup- 
plemented by  efficient  personal  co-operation  in  the  work 
of  reform.  As  a  result  several  important  canal  measures, 
including  the  one  already  referred  to,  have  passed  that  body. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  both  parties  are  now  in  substantial 
accord  with  him  in  this  matter,  though  but  recently  he  was 
deemed  to  be  almost  without  the  pale  of  party  fellowship. 

He  also  attained  wide  prominence  because  of  his  determined 


172  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

hostility  to  the  "  COSTIGAN  "  amendment  to  the  New  York 
charter,  and  he  has  been  a  conspicuous  participant  in  some 
of  the  most  exciting  debates  of  the  present  session. 

Mr.  DAVIS  was  born  in  Hampton,  Washington  county, 
September  1,  1823,  and  is  therefore  now  in  the  full  prime 
of  life.  His  education  was  mainly  obtained  at  Granville 
Academy.  Soon  after  leaving  school  he  read  law  for  a  time 
with  BOYD  &  BILLINGS,  in  Whitehall,  and  qualified  himself 
to  that  extent  that  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January, 
1846.  He  practiced  more  or  less  for  a  number  of  years,  but 
he  finally  became  engaged  in  commercial  life  at  Whitehall, 
and  he  is  now  one  of  the  most  successful  lumber  merchants 
and  forwarders  in  that  thriving  city. 

He  has  long  been  a  leading  Democrat  in  Washington 
county,  but  we  believe  he  never  held  any  public  ofiice 
of  importance  until  he  came  to  the  Assembly.  He  was 
elected  to  that  body  in  1873,  by  a  majority  of  393  over  JOHN" 
HALL,  the  Kepublican  candidate,  and  was  re-elected  by  a 
majority  of  547  over  WM.  H.  TEFT,  Republican.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Canal  Committee  during  both  ses- 
sions, and  also  serves  this  year  as  member  of  Ways  and 
Means,  and  Chairman  of  Privileges  and  Elections. 

Mr.  DAVIS  is  noted  as  being  one  of  the  most  thoughtful 
and  attentive  members  of  the  House ;  and  though  he  votes 
with  his  party  on  most  party  questions,  his  action  on  public 
measures  in  general  is  dictated  by  a  regard  for  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  people.  He  is  a  man  above  the  average  height,  of 
agreeable  presence  and  courteous  manners.  His  complexion 
is  somewhat  dark  and  his  features  spare,  but  his  face  habitu- 
ally wears  a  mild  and  thoughtful  expression,  and  his  general 
appearance  is  that  of  a  studious  and  cultivated  gentleman. 
He  is  a  good  speaker,  and  a  clear,  incisive  reasoner,  but  he 
deals  in  facts,  and  the  conclusions  therefrom,  rather  than  the 
meretricious  graces  of  oratory.  His  speeches  embrace  the 
results  of  deep  thought  and  mature  conviction,  and  are, 
therefore,  generally  logical  and  sound.  He  is  a  valuable  mem- 
ber, and  his  ability  is  acknowledged  even  by  his  opponents. 


GEORGE  G.  DECKER.  173 


GEORGE  G.  DECKER. 


GEOEGE  G.  DECKEE  was  born  at  Eoxbury,  Delaware 
county,  N.  Y.,  February  15,  1824,  and  was  married  at  the 
same  place  to  CATHABINE  H.  MORE,  September  5,  1849. 

His  maternal  grandfather,  Hon.  JAMES  MOEE,  was  a  son 
of  JOHN  MOEE,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Delaware  county, 
having  emigrated  to  this  State  from  Scotland  a  few  years 
prior  to  the  war  of  the  revolution.  His  father,  WILLIAM 
DECKEK,  was  of  Dutch  and  Huguenot  parentage,  and  was 
born  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.  In  early  life  he  settled  in 
Koxbury,  N.  Y.,  and  engaged  in  mercantile  business  and 
farming.  Having  lost  his  store  stock  of  goods,  and  all  his 
books  and  papers,  by  a  fire  in  1831,  he  then  removed  to 
Andes,  N".  Y.,  where  he  died  in  1852. 

Mr.  DECKER  was  educated  at  the  common  schools,  and  at 
Delaware  Academy,  at  Delhi,  N.  Y.,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1840  with  its  usual  honors.  He  has  been  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  since  1840,  beginning  as  clerk  with  his 
uncle,  Hon.  E.  I.  BUEHANS  (a  former  member  of  the 
Assembly  and  Senate  of  this  State),  which  position  he  held 
till  1846,  when  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm.  In  1849, 
a  branch  store  was  started  at  Margaret ville,  N.  Y.,  of  which 
Mr.  DECKER  took  the  sole  charge  till  1856,  when  he  pur- 
chased Mr.  BUBHANS'  interest,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
pushing  mercantile  pursuits  among  hosts  of  opponents.  Mr. 
DECKEE  has  made  a  good  deal  of  money,  but  has  not 
hoarded  it.  He  is  neither  rich  nor  poor  in  the  modern 
acceptation  of  the  term;  but  has  ample  means  for  the 
necessary  wants  and  comforts  for  himself  and  family. 

He  was  formerly  a  Free  Soil  Democrat,  and  acted  and 
voted  with  that  wing  of  the  Democratic  party  till  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Eepublican  party.  Since  then  he  has  always 


174  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

voted  with  that  party  on  all  National  and  State  issues.  His 
town  is  largely  Democratic,  and  he  has  the  honor  of  being 
the  only  Republican  in  the  town  (save  one)  that  was  ever 
elected  to  the  office  of  supervisor.  He  also  held  the  office 
of  school  commissioner  of  the  town  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  was  the  first  post-master  of  the  village  of  Margaretville. 
He  was  appointed  a  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  for 
the  larger  portion  of  the  Second  Assembly  district  of  Dela- 
ware county,  holding  the  position  for  two  years.  He  has 
been  one  of  the  railroad  commissioners  of  his  town  for  the 
last  nine  years,  still  holding  that  position,  and  for  the  last 
two  or  three  years  has  served  as  a  director  of  the  Delhi  and 
Middletown  railroad. 

Mr.  DECKER  experienced  religion  in  1848,  and  united  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  was  founder  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Margaretville,  there  being  no 
church  in  the  village  when  he  went  there  in  1849.  He  has 
been  a  class  leader,  steward,  and  Sunday  school  superintendent 
in  that  church  since  its  organization,  and  was  elected  alter- 
nate delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  from  the  New  York  Conference  in  1 872. 
He  was  elected  to  the  present  Assembly  from  the  Second 
Assembly  district  of  Delaware  county,  comprising  ten 
towns,  over  APOLLOS  C.  EDGERTON",  his  Democratic  oppo- 
nent, by  the  unprecedented  majority  of  699,  it  being  more 
than  double  the  majority  any  candidate  in  that  district  ever 
before  received.  He  is  in  all  respects  a  straight-forward, 
solid  man  of  business,  upright  in  all  his  dealings,  and  thor- 
oughly capable  of  filling  any  position  in  which  he  may  be 
placed.  It  is  no  disparagement  to  previous  members  from 
that  locality  to  say  that  Delaware  county  has  never  before 
sent  a  better  representative  to  the  capitol  at  Albany. 


LEO  C.  DESSAR.  175 


LEO  C.  DESSAR. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the  youngest  and 
most  active  members  of  the  House.  He  represents  the 
Seventeenth  district  of  New  York.  Apparently  familiar 
with  every  topic  of  legislative  discussion,  he  is  a  good  public 
speaker,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  measure  lances  with  the 
veteran  parliamentarians  of  the  Assembly.  It  is  not  fre- 
quently the  case  that  so  young  a  man  as  he  succeeds  in  con- 
quering a  recognized  position  among  those  who  habitually 
debate  the  public  questions  which  come  before  the  Legisla- 
ture. Mr.  DESSAE,  however,  has  views  of  his  own,  usually 
sound  and  eminently  sensible  and  practical,  upon  all  the 
questions  of  the  day.  Possessing  the  gift  of  oratory,  he  but 
performs  a  manifest  duty,  therefore,  in  giving  utterance  to 
them. 

Mr.  DESSAE  was  born  in  Bavaria  in  1846,  and  came  to  this 
country  with  his  parents  while  an  infant.  His  father,  Dr. 
JULIUS  H.  DESSAE,  was  a  distinguished  German  philoso- 
pher, and  was  the  author  of  many  philosophical  and  other 
literary  works.  He  was  professor  for  many  years  of  one  of 
the  first  universities  in  Europe,  and  also  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Many  of  his  works  are  now  used  in  Western  colleges.  His 
son,  the  present  Assemblyman,  received  a  thorough  collegi- 
ate education,  after  which  he  studied  law  and  graduated  with 
high  honor  at  Columbia  College  Law  School.  Since  then 
he  has  established  an  extensive  legal  practice  in  the  metropo- 
lis. While  yet  a  mere  boy,  during  his  college  days,  he  left 
his  studies  to  take  part  in  the  war  for  the  Union,  joining 
the  three  months'  volunteers,  and  performing  honorable  ser- 
vice in  Kentucky.  Since  the  war  he  has  held  the  positions 
of  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant  in  the  Ninety-sixth  regiment, 
National  Guard. 


176  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

He  has  obtained  repute  as  a  well-read  and  able  lawyer,  and 
has  been  connected  with  a  number  of  important  cases.  It  is 
worthy  of  mention  here,  that  he  was  one  of  the  attorneys 
in  the  contested  seat  case  of  Killian  v.  Frear,  in  the  Assem- 
bly of  1872,  which  at  the  time  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion. 

Mr.  DESSAR  has  always  been  an  actire  working  Demo- 
crat, and  during  exciting  campaigns  has  given  his  best  ener- 
gies to  the  effective  prosecution  of  the  canvass.  For  two 
years  past  he  has  been  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Tam- 
many Hall  General  Committee,  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Tammany  organization  since  the  demolition  of  the  ring, 
being  one  of  its  most  effective  campaign  speakers.  His  elec- 
tion-last fall  was  the  result  of  one  of  the  most  exciting  can- 
vasses on  record  in  the  district.  Not  only  the  strongest 
Republican,  but  two  of  the  strongest  Independent  Demo- 
cratic candidates  ran  against  him.  He  delivered  in  all  some 
seventy-five  speeches  during  the  canvass.  The  attention  of 
all  the  prominent  politicians  in  the  city  was  directed  to  the 
unusually  spirited  contest,  and  his  election,  by  a  plurality 
of  169,  was  received  with  great  satisfaction  by  his  political 
friends.  He  serves  on  Judiciary,  Aliens  and  sub-Committee, 
of  the  Whole. 

Young,  ambitious,  talented  and  popular,  few  members  of 
the  Assembly  have  a  fairer  prospect  for  the  future  than  Mr. 
DESSAR.  It  is  not  often  that  old  members  show  so  thorough 
a  familiarity  with  legislative  requirements.  Added  to  this  he 
possesses  what  is  no  less  a  requirement  to  the  appreciation 
of  the  public  and  the  esteem  of  his  fellows,  a  habitual  cour- 
tesy of  manner  and  pleasant  disposition,  with  a  character 
entirely  above  reproach. 


OBED  EDSON.  177 


OBED  EDSON. 


Mr.  EDSON,  of  Chautauqua,  is  a  descendant  of  SAMUEL 
EDSON,  who  came  from  England  in  1638  or  1639,  and  set- 
tled at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  and  afterward  became  an 
original  proprietor,  and  first  settler  of  Bridgewater,  Plymouth 
county,  in  that  State.  His  father  Hon.  JOHN  M.  EDSON, 
formerly  a  Judge  of  Chautauqua  county,  was  a  native  of 
Madison  county,  in  this  State,  but  came  with  the  family  of 
Maj.  SAMUEL  SINCLAIR,  to  Sinclairville,  in  Chautauqua 
county  in  1810,  where  he  has  since  resided.  His  mother  is  a 
native  of  Vermont. 

He  was  born  in  Sinclairville,  February  18,  1832,  and  ob- 
tained a  good  education  at  the  common  schools  in  Sinclair- 
ville, and  at  the  Fredonia  Academy.  In  1851  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  at  Sinclairville,  and  in  1853  attended  the 
Albany  Law  University.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  April 
8,  1853,  and  has  since  then  practiced  law  in  his  native  village. 
At  intervals  his  business  has  been  that  of  a  practical  surveyor, 
and  to  some  extent  that  of  civil  engineer  also,  having  assist- 
ed in  the  survey  of  several  railroads  in  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania. Although  Mr.  EDSON  has  always  been  an  earnest 
and  unwavering  Democrat,  yet  his  attention  has  not  here- 
tofore been  principally  devoted  to  politics,  but  more  especially 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was,  however,  soon 
after  attaining  his  majority,  elected  for  two  years  Superin- 
tendent of  Common  Schools  of  his  town,  and  in  1856  was 
chosen  Justice  of  the  Peace,  which  office  he  has  since  held. 
In  1857  and  1858,  he  was  Justice  of  Sessions  of  the  county, 
in  1865  the  Democratic  candidate  for  District  Attorney,  and 
in  1867  he  was  elected  Supervisor  of  his  native  town.  In 
1873  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  member  of  As- 
sembly against  the  Hon.  JOHN  D.  HILLER,  who  was  elected 
23 


178  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

by  a  majority  of  but  seventy-two  ;  the  Eepublican  majority 
upon  the  State  ticket  in  the  district  then  being  between  400 
and  500.  In  1874  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  ma- 
jority of  225,  over  HARVEY  S.  ELKINS,  the  Republican 
candidate,  notwithstanding  the  Republican  majority  for 
Governor  in  the  assembly  district  at  that  election  was  1,059. 
He  is  the  ouly  Democratic  member  of  Assembly  that  has 
been  elected  from  Chautauqua  county  in  the  last  thirty 
years.  In  the  present  Assembly  he  is  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mitteee  upon  Petition  of  Aliens,  and  a  member  of  Claims, 
and  Roads  and  Bridges. 

He  has  devoted  considerable  attention  to  local  historical 
research.  Of  A.  M.  YOUNG'S  elaborate  history  of  Chautauqua 
county,  soon  to  be  issued,  the  first  part,  giving  a  history  of 
the  Indian  tribes,  and  of  the  explorations  of  the  French 
missionaries  and  trayelers,  and  of  the  operations  of 
the  French  and  English  in  the  western  part  of  the  State 
during  the  French  and  Indian,  and  Revolutionary  wars, 
was  written  by  Mr.  EDSON,  and  he  has  also  made  other 
contributions  to  the  early  and  local  history  of  western 
New  York. 

In  1859  Mr.  EDSON  was  married  to  EMILY  A.  ALLEN,  the 
daughter  of  Hon.  C.  J.  ALLEN,  formerly  of  New  London, 
Connecticut.  He  is  rather  a  quiet  member,  unassuming  in 
his  manner,  but  he  has  made  an  excellent  impression  thus 
far.  In  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  has  been  somewhat 
in  the  habit  of  public  speaking,  but  he  is  not  prone  to  ora- 
tory unless  the  occasion  demands  it,  and  he  fully  understands 
his  subject.  The  votes  he  has  received  when  before  the  peo- 
ple for  their  suffrages,  indicate  that  he  enjoys  wide  popular- 
ity at  home. 


WILLIAM  H.  ELY.  179 


WILLIAM  H.  ELY. 


Mr.  ELY  is  a  quiet  but  extremely  attentive  member,  repre- 
senting the  first  district  of  Otsego  countv  for  the  second 
term.  He  is  well  known  throughout  Otsego  county,  where 
he  has  resided  all  his  life,  and  enjoys  deserved  popularity. 
He  was  born  in  Middlefield,  Otsego  county,  on  the  2d  of 
October,  1829,  being  the  son  of  Hon.  SUMNER  ELY,  now 
deceased,  who  was  a  prominent  physician,  and  at  one  time 
President  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Senate  from  1840  to  1843,  both  years  inclu- 
sive, a  member  of  the  Assembly  in  1836,  and  has  filled  numer- 
ous other  positions. 

Mr.  ELY,  the  pre  sent  member,  was  educated  in  common 
and  select  schools,  and  brought  up  to  mercantile  pursuits. 
He  was  married,  in  1855,  to  Miss  ELLA  CARYL,  of  New  York 
city.  Establishing  himself  in  business,  he  followed  it  suc- 
cessfully until  a  few  years  ago.  when  he  turned  his  attention 
to  farming,  and  is  now  the  owner  of  a  desirable  estate  at  East 
Worcester,  where  he  resides. 

He  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  has  from  an  early  age 
been  more  or  less  in  politics.  Possessing,  as  he  does,  a  rare 
degree  of  tact  and  judgment,  his  co-operation  and  counsel 
have  been  highly  esteemed  by  his  party.  During  a  period  of 
six  years,  commencing  in  1863  and  omitting  1867,  he  served 
in  the  Otsego  Board  of  Supervisors,  making  an  excellent 
record  for  integrity  and  legislative  capacity.  So  well  satisfied 
were  his  constituents,  indeed,  that  he  was  twice  returned  to 
the  board  without  opposition. 

He  was  elected  to  the  last  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  486, 
over  an  extremely  popular  Republican,  Hon.  WM.  W.  CAMP- 
BELL, and  re-elected  by  a  plurality  of  406,  his  opponents  be- 
ing H.  W.  BROWJT,  Eepublican,  and  GEO.  D.  HYDE,  Prohi- 


180  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

bition.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Roads  and 
Bridges  last  year,  and  is  now  Chairman  of  Roads  and 
Bridges,  and  member  of  Grievances  and  Two-Thirds  and 
Three-Fifths  Bills. 


ALONZO  H.  FARRAR. 


Mr.  FARRAR  is  young  man  who  has  as  fair  a  future  before 
him  as  any  other  in  the  Assembly.  He  has  but  recently 
made  his  entry  into  public  life,  and  being  in  the  flush  of 
early  manhood,  and  possessed  of  much  more  than  ordinary 
abilities,  it  is  reasonable  to  anticipate  for  him  a  brilliant  and 
useful  career.  Personally,  he  is  one  of  those  whole-souled 
fellows  who  are  popular  with  everybody.  He  is  quick  of 
perception,  pleasing  of  address,  keenly  appreciative  of  the 
ludicrous  side  of  human  nature,  and  an  excellent  talker. 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  he  should  be  a  general 
favorite.  In  point  of  solid  attainments,  also,  he  is  fitted  to 
rank  with  the  most  accomplished  members  of  the  House, 
and  he  is  in  all  respects  a  gentleman  whose  character  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  contemplate. 

ALONZO  HAWLEY  FARRAR  was  born  in  Middletown,  Vt., 
on  the  29th  of  March,  1843,  and  is,  therefore,  thirty-two 
years  of  age.  His  father,  FRAXKLIN  A.  FARRAR,  still 
resides  at  West  Rupert,  Vt,  and  is  a  retired  farmer.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  MARY  A.  HAWLEY.  Young 
FARRAR  received  his  education  at  Fort  Edward  Institute, 
Burr  &  Burton  Seminary,  Manchester,  Vt.,  and  the  Albany 
Law  School.  Graduating  from  the  latter  institution  with 
honor,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1864.  Soon  after,  he 
commenced  practicing  law  at  Kiuderhook,  Columbia  county, 
and  has  met  with  gratifying  success.  In  December,  1868, 
he  was  married  to  ANNA.  C.  MESICK,  of  Kinderhook.  As 
the  result  of  his  eight  or  nine  years  of  practice,  Mr.  FARRAR 


ALONZO  H.  FARRAR.  181 

enjoys  wide  repute  as  an  advocate,  and  is  to-day  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  members  of  the  Columbia  county  bar. 

Since  attaining  his  majority,  Mr.  FARRAR  has  taken  a 
warm  interest  in  politics,  being  always  identified  with  the 
Kepublican  party.  He  never  ran  for  office,  however,  until 
1873,  *when  he  was  opposed  in  the  Assembly  canvass  by  a 
popular  Democrat,  PETER  F.  MESICK,  and  elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  307,  in  a  district  which  was  Democratic  the  pre- 
vious year  by  224  majority.  Last  fall  he  was  re-elected  by  a 
majority  of  186  over  HENRY  H.  GIBBS,  Democrat. 

Mr.  FARRAR  holds  orthodox  views  in  religion,  and  posses- 
ses a  character,  in  all  respects,  above  reproach.  Since  he 
has  taken  his  seat  in  the  Assembly,  he  has  made  an  excel- 
lent record.  His  maiden  speech  last  year,  made  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  Fifth  Article  of  the 
Constitution,  attracted  general  attention,  and  not  only  placed 
him  in  the  front  rank  of  debaters,  but  gave  indication  of  his 
independent  spirit,  his  action  not  being  in  accordance  with 
what'  was  regarded  as  the  policy  of  his  party.  He,  however, 
deemed  it  his  duty  to  enter  his  protest  against  any  attempt 
to  take  the  powers  of  government  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
people,  and  the  fact  that  the  proposition  was  defeated  was 
undoubtedly  due  to  the  strenuous  opposition  of  Mr.  FAR- 
RAR and  Col.  CHARLES  S.  SPENCER,  of  New  York,  both 
Kepublicans.  Since  then  and  during  the  present  session, 
Mr.  FARRAR  has  frequently  participated  in  the  discussions, 
always  placing  himself  upon  the  side  of  such  measures  as 
are  calculated  to  improve  the  tone  of  government  and 
society.  Among  the  measures  which  received  his  warm  ad- 
vocacy was  the  compulsory  education  law  of  last  year.  In 
the  last  House  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Judiciary,  Grievances,  and  Local  and  Special  Laws.  This 
year  he  is  on  Insurance  and  Grievances. 


182  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JAMES  FAULKNER,  JR. 


Mr.  FAULKNER  is  a  banker,  residing  in  Dansville,  Lijving- 
ston  county.  He  is  a  man  of  much  ability,  and  being  of 
extremely  social  disposition  and  agreeable  personal  manners, 
he  is  a  universal  favorite  in  the  Assembly,  and  quite  popular 
and  influential.  He  was  born  at  Dansville,  January  22, 1833, 
and  comes  of  good  stock,  his  father,  JAMES  FAULKNER,  hav- 
ing been  a  member  of  Assembly  in  the  years  1825  and  1826, 
and  State  Senator  from  1841  to  1845.  JAMES  FAULKNER, 
Sr.,  is  still  living,  and  was  very  active  last  fall  in  assisting 
at  the  election  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Young  FAULKNER  received  his  preliminary  education  in 
the  common  schools,  and  afterwards  entered  Yale  College, 
graduated  from  that  institution  in  1859,  with  two  brothers 
in  the  same  class,  and  has  since  been  engaged  mainly  in  com- 
mercial pursuits  and  banking.  He  has  always  been  an  active 
Democrat,  and  stands  high  in  the  councils  of  his  party  in 
Livingston  county.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a 
plurality  of  302,  defeating  JONATHAN  B.  MOREY,  Repub- 
lican, who  was  elected  to  the  previous  House  by  a  majority 
of  1,197,  and  A.  M.  BINGHAM,  Prohibition.  A  man  who 
can  effect  such  an  extraordinary  change  of  votes  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  popular.  He  is  Chairman  of  the  Insurance 
Committee,  member  of  Public  Education  and  Expenditures 
of  the  Executive  Department,  and  also  chairman  of  the 
Assembly  portion  of  the  Joint  Committee  to  investigate  the 
canal  frauds. 

Mr.  FAULKNER  is  an  excellent  speaker,  and  frequently 
takes  part  in  debates,  ranking  as  a  very  able  member  of  the 
House. 


GEORGE  W.  FAY.  183 


GEORGE  W.  FAY. 


Mr.  FAT  is  a  native  of  Westboro,  Worcester  county,  Mass., 
where  he  was  born  December  25,  1834.  His  father  is  GrEO. 
FAY,  a  reputable  mechanic  of  Framingham,  Mass.  His 
mother  died  in  1868.  After  obtaining  a  good  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  Framingham  Academy,  Mr.  FAY 
was  employed  for  five  years  as  clerk  in  the  Suffolk  Bank  of 
Boston,  thus  acquiring  an,  excellent  business  training. 
Afterward  he  removed  to  G-loversville,  and  engaged  in  the 
clothing  trade,  which  he  has  continued  until  the  present 
time,  and  is  now  one  of  the  oldest  established  merchants  in  the 
place.  He  has  uniformly  been  very  successful  in  business,  a 
fact  due  to  his  energy  and  sagacity,  and  a  fact  also  gratify- 
ing in  view  of  the  circumstance  that  he  has  been  the  archi- 
tect of  his  own  fortune.  He  was  married  on  the  6th  of 
March,  1861,  to  ELECTA  A.  HILDRETH,  youngest  daughter  of 
S.  G-.  HILDRETH,  Esq. 

As  may  be  gathered  from  this  brief  reference  to  his  career, 
Mr.  FAY  is  an  energetic,  shrewd  and  capable  man,  fitted 
for  almost  any  emergency,  and  especially  fitted  for  the  varied 
requirements  of  legislation.  Thus  far  he  has  acquitted 
himself  well  in  the  Assembly.  He  is  not  over  anxious  to 
display  himself  in  debate,  but  he  is  faithful  in  attendance 
at  the  sessions  of  the  House,  sound  as  regards  political  action, 
and  watchful  of  the  interests  of  his  constituents.  He  has 
always  been  a  Eepublican,  invariably  giving  his  support  to 
the  regular  nominations,  and  aside  from  a  few  unimportant 
local  positions,  has  never  before  held  office. 


184  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM  H.  FISH. 


The  seat  occupied  by  Dr.  FISH,  of  Schuyler,  is  seldom 
vacant  during  the  hours  of  legislative  business.  He  performs 
his  duties  quietly  and  unostentatiously,  and  it  is  evident  that 
when  the  record  shall  be  made  up,  few  members  will  be 
awarded  credit  for  greater  faithfulness  than  he.  Dr.  FISH 
is  well  and  favorably  known  in  Schuyler  county,  where  he 
has  resided  all  his  life.  Personally,  he  is  genial  and  social, 
and  has  a  habit  of  making  warm  friends  of  all  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact.  Furthermore,  he  is  quick  of  percep- 
tion, pleasing  of  address,  and  thoroughly  humane  and  kindly 
in  all  his  characteristics.  No  man  enjoys  a  joko  with  greater 
relish,  and  few  are  more  ready  to  sympathize  with  mis- 
fortune. 

Though  he  is  not  particularly  distinguished  as  a  floor 
debater,  the  Doctor  is  fluent  in  conversation,  and  able  to 
express  his  sentiments  freely,  when  the  occasion  requires. 
No  blot  or  stain  rests  on  his  character  as  a  Democrat  or  citi- 
zen, and  he  enjoys  fully  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his 
neighbors  and  friends. 

Dr.  FISH  was  born  at  Mecklenburgh,  in  what  is  now 
Schuyler  county,  April  14,  1827.  His  father,  Dr.  HENRY 
FISH,  was  from  Bennington,  Vt,  and  settled  in  Mecklen- 
burgh, as  a  physician,  in  the  year  1821,  residing  there  until 
his  death,  in  April,  1873.  He  was  a  prominent  Democratic 
politician,  and  served  his  town  as  Supervisor  several  terms, 
both  before  and  after  it  was  merged  in  Schuyler  county. 
His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  MARY  COLONY,  was 
from  Connecticut. 

Mr.  W.  H.  FISH  was  educated  at  the  common  schools, 
and  at  the  Ithaca  Academy.  He  studied  medicine  with  his 
father,  attended  lectures,  and  graduated  in  medicine  at  the 


WILLIAM  H.  FISH.  185 

University  of  Buffalo  in  1851,  and  has  since  practiced  medi- 
cine in  his  native  place.  It  is  said  a  prophet  is  not  without 
honor  save  in  his  own  country.  His  case  is  an  exception  to 
the  rule,  he  having  had  a  very  extensive  practice  for  the  last 
twenty  years,  being  regarded  as  the  leading  physician  and  sur- 
geon in  that  section,  and  having  performed  some  delicate  and 
difficult  operations  in  surgery.  He  has  been  president  of 
the  County  Medical  Society,  is  a  permanent  member  of  the 
State  Medical  Society,  and  a  curator  of  the  University  of 
Buffalo. 

In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  an  active 
worker  with  the  rank  and  file.  He  has  never  consented  to 
accept  any  nominations  to  office  until  within  the  last  four 
years. 

In  1864  he  was  chosen  delegate  to  the  Convention  by  the 
Democracy  of  Schuyler,  and  was  nominated  for  member  of 
Assembly  in  1867,  but  declined  the  honor.  He  was  elected 
Supervisor  of  Hector  in  1871  by  32  majority,  and  was  the 
only  successful  candidate  on  his  ticket.  He  was  re-elected 
in  1872, 1873  and  1874,  by  majorities  averaging  over  200  in  a 
town  that  usually  gives  over  200  Kepublican  majority. 
While  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors  he  gained  considerable 
reputation  by  taking  a  bold  stand  against  the  payment  of  the 
county  war  bonds,  claiming  that  they  were  forgeries.  He 
carried  the  fight  successfully  through  the  courts,  and  rid 
the  county  of  the  bonds,  thus  saving  many  thousands  of 
dollars  of  unjust  taxation. 

During  the  war  he  was  regarded  as  a  "War  Democrat,  hav- 
ing assisted  in  raising  volunteers  to  fill  the  quotas.  Under 
the  government  call  for  surgeons  after  the  second  battle  of 
Bull  Kun,  he  was  sent  by  the  District  War  Committee  to 
help  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  hour.  He  was  married  in 
1858  to  Miss  ELIZA  C.  NOTES,  of  Starkey,  Yates  county.  He 
was  elected  to  the  present  Legislature  by  a  majority  of  606 
over  H.  L.  GKEGOEY,  a  member  of  the  last  House. 
24 


186  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JOHN  FREAM. 


Mr.  FREAM,  who  represents  the  First  district  of  Ulster,  is 
a  retired  steamboat  man  and  forwarder,  of  large  means. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  actively  interested  in  the  trans- 
portation business  on  the  Hudson  river,  and  he  enjoys  the 
highest  reputation  for  personal  integrity  and  business  capa- 
city. His  father,  JOHN  FREAM,  was  a  life-long  Democrat, 
and  was  at  one  time  very  prominent  in  New  York  politics, 
being  in  1827  a  candidate  for  the  Shrievalty  nomination, 
but  was  beaten  in  the  convention,  through  a  trick,  by  Major 
NOAH  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer.  The  circumstance  gave 
great  dissatisfaction  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party,  and  a 
people's  convention,  which  was  immediately  called,  offered 
the  nomination  to  Mr.  FREAM.  He  declined,  however,  and 
the  honor  was  bestowed  upon  a  Mr.  SHAW,  who  was  tri- 
umphantly elected.  In  the  year  1828  the  elder  Mr.  FREAM 
procured,  mainly  at  his  own  expense,  a  fine  hickory  tree, 
which  grew  near  what  is  now  90th  street,  and  planted  it  on 
the  corner  of  Grand  and  Ludlow  streets,  it  being  the  first  of 
the  forest  of  hickory  poles  raised  in  honor  of  Gen.  JACK- 
SON during  the  ensuing  exciting  campaign. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  the  present  member  of 
Assembly,  was  born  in  New  York  on  the  31st  of  March, 
1812,  and  was  educated  in  private  first-class  schools  in  the 
metropolis,  and  at  a  boarding  academy  in  Bedford,  West- 
chester  county.  He,  therefore,  acquired  a  good  English  edu- 
cation. After  leaving  school,  he  remained  a  couple  of 
years  under  parental  instruction  as  a  mechanic,  and  was 
afterward  with  a  brother-in-law,  WILLIAM  HAISELL,  until 
he  reached  his  majority.  For  several  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Volunteer  Fire  department,  and  became  popu- 
lar and  well  known  in  the  Fifth  and  Eighth  wards.  In 


JOHN  FREAM.  187 

1835,  he  bought  out  his  employer,  and  carried  on  business 
on  his  own  account  for  five  years.  From  1840  to  1845,  he 
dealt  in  paints,  oils  and  glass,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
HANN,  SMITH  &  FEEAM,  the  SMITH  being  J.  LEE  SMITH, 
president  of  the  Stockholders'  Bank  of  New  York.  About 
the  y§ar  1845,  he  settled  in  Saugerties,  and  became  engaged  in 
the  passage,  freight  and  towing  business  from  Saugerties 
to  New  York,  owning  and  running  the  steamer  "K.  L. 
Stevens."  This  he  continued  successfully  until  1852,  when 
he  retired  from  active  business.  In  1863,  he  purchased  a 
half  interest  in  the  Tivoli  freighting,  produce  and  commis- 
sion business,  the  firm  name  being  SILVER  &  Co.'s  New  York 
and  Tivoli  Freight  Line.  Two  years  later,  he  purchased  the 
steamer  "Ansonia"  on  his  own  account,  and  organized, 
under  State  law,  the  New  York  and  Saugerties  Transporta- 
tion Company,  serving  until  January,  1873,  as  its  president, 
and  subsequently  as  director.  In  April,  1874,  he  sold  his 
entire  interest  in  the  Tivoli  freighting  establishment,  and 
until  drawn  into  politics  last  fall,  was  free  from  all  business 
relations. 

Mr.  FREAM  has  been  a  Democrat  all  his  life,  and  an 
exceedingly  active  and  influential  one,  being  on  terms  of 
intimacy  with  most  of  the  leading  politicians  of  the  times. 
We  believe,  however,  that  this  is  his  first  entry  into  public 
official  life.     He  was  elected  last  fall  over  MOSES  STONE, 
Eepublican,  by  a  majority  of  573.      He  is  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Commerce  and  Navigation,  Civil  Division 
and  Engrossed  Bills,  and  is  regarded  as  a  capable  and  ener 
getic  legislator. 


188  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JOSEPH  D.  FRIEND. 


Mr.  FRIEND  represents  the  Second  district  of  Orange 
county.  He  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass,  November  12,  1819. 
Most  of  his  boyhood  was  spent  in  Hartford,  and  in  that  city 
and  in  Hamilton,  N.  Y.,  he  obtained  his  early  education ; 
when  he  reached  a  proper  age,  he  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine,  which  he  prosecuted  for  some  time  in  the  schools 
of  Hartford  and  New  Haven.  About  the  year  1841,  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine  in  Middletown,  and  there 
he  has  since  resided,  having  established  a  large  and  successful 
practice. 

Mr.  FRIEND  is  widely  known  as  a  writer  and  journ- 
alist. For  several  years,  he  was  editor  of  the  Middletown 
Mail,  and,  on  the  consolidation  of  that  paper  with  the 
Middletown  Mercury,  was  editor  of  the  new  journal,  and 
evinced  much  ability.  He  has  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  ablest  political  writers  in  his  Congressional  district. 
Besides  his  labors  in  this  regard,  he  has,  in  his  intervals  of 
leisure,  contributed  largely  to  the  literary  and  medical  pub- 
lications of  the  day.  He  is  consequently  favorably  known 
beyond  the  circle  of  Middletown  life.  During  a  period  of 
five  years,  he  was  Professor  of  Obstetrics  in  the  Metropolitan 
Medical  College  of  New  York.  For  several  years,  also,  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  Middle- 
town,  and  now  holds  the  position  of  health  officer  of  that 
village. 

He  has  always  been  prominent  as  a  Democrat,  and  gen- 
erally active  in  local  politics.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly by  a  majority  of  585  over  ELLIS  HARRIKG,  Republican, 
and  is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Printing,  and  mem- 
ber of  Public  Education  and  Charitable  Institutions. 


EDWARD  GALLAGHER.  189 


EDWARD  GALLAGHER. 


Mr.  GALLAGHER  succeeds  Hon.  F.  A.  ALBERGER  as  the 
representative  of  the  Third  Erie  district,  and,  though  not 
given  to  oratory,  is  a  clear-headed,  practical  man,  and  fully 
alive  to  the  true  interests  of  his  city.  Previous  to  1856,  he 
was  a  Democrat,  but  he  joined  the  ^Republican  party  on  its 
organization,  and  has  ever  since  acted  with  it.  He  is  new  to 
the  business  of  legislation,  and,  in  fact,  has  not  been  in  the 
habit  of  accepting  political  offices  of  any  kind ;  but  he  has 
already  taken  rank  in  the  House  as  an  honest,  intelligent 
and  useful  working  member. 

He  was  born  in  Albany  on  the  20th  of  December,  1829, 
and  received  a  good  education  in  the  public  schools.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  extensively  engaged  in  Buffalo  as  a 
forwarding  and  commission  merchant;  his  business  being 
mainly  on  the  canals.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  for  14  years,  serving  two  years  in  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees. His  knowledge  of  New  York's  great  water-way  is, 
therefore,  of  a  practical  character,  and  renders  his  services  in 
the  Assembly  of  especial  value.  In  the  canvass  last  fall  he 
received  a  majority  of  1,190  over  GEORGE  SAHDROCK,  the 
Democratic  candidate.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Internal  Affairs. 


190  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM  H.  GEDNEY. 


Mr.  GBDNEY  is  one  of  the  ^Republican  members  of  the 
New  York  delegation,  a  practical  man  of  business,  and 
though  not  often  occupying  the  time  of  the  House  in 
speeches,  is  a  capable  and  influential  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. He  was  born  in  Harrison  township,  Westchester 
county,  June  14,  1818.  He  was  well  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Westchester  and  Chemung  counties,  and  in 
New  York  city.  During  boyhood  he  worked  on  his  father's 
farm,  but  he  subsequently  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and 
during  the  greater  portion  of  his  life  he  has  been  a  builder, 
meeting  with  uniform  success  in  his  undertakings. 

In  politics,  Mr.  GEDNEY  was  formerly  a  Whig,  and  for 
many  years  he  has  acted  with  the  Eepublican  party,  holding 
several  offices  of  responsibility.  In  1861,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  New  York  Common  Council.  Later,  in  1865  and  1866, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  during  a 
period  of  thirteen  years  he  was  School  Trustee  of  the  Ninth 
ward  of  New  York.  He  is  serving  his  first  term  in  the  As- 
sembly, to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  140  over 
KANSOM  PAKKER,  Jr.,  Democrat.  He  is  assigned  to  the 
Committees  on  State  Prisons  and  Federal  Kelations. 


NEWTON  H.  GREEN.  191 


NEWTON  H.  GREEN. 


Mr.  GREEN  is  the  son  of  ANDREW  H.  GREEN,  an  eminent 
citizen,  who  came  from  Columbia  county  to  Genesee  in  1809, 
and  died  at  Byron,  in  January  last,  at  the  age  of  77.  He 
was  a  member. of  Assembly  in  1838,  '39.  His  brother, 
LORREN  GREEN,  was  member  of  Assembly  in  1862-63. 

Mr.  GREEN  was  born  in  Byron,  his  present  place  of  resi- 
dence, September  16, 1828.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  and  has  followed  farming  all  his  life,  though  he 
taught  school  during  winter  months  from  1843  to  1853.  He 
was  married  October  i7, 1855,  to  SYLVINA  M.  DEWET,  of 
Byron.  He  is  a  man  of  high  character,  and  has  always 
been  active  in  local  politics,  having  been  a  straightforward 
Kepublican  since  the  formation  of  the  party.  Previous  to 
to  1856  he  was  a  Whig.  He  has  held  the  offices  of  Town 
Superintendent  of  Schools  from  1843  to  1853,  Assessor, 
from  1856  to  1862,  and  Supervisor  from  1872  to  1875,  being 
recently  re-elected.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
State  Charitable  Institutions  and  Indian  Affairs,  and  is  re- 
garded as  a  careful  and  judicious  member. 


STEPHEN  GRIFFIN. 


Mr.  GRIFFIN,  who  is  a  plain  and  unassuming  gentleman 
considerably  past  middle  age,  represents  the  county  of  War- 
ren, of  which  he  is  a  native  and  life-long  resident.  He  has 
had  a  somewhat  checkered  life,  but  spite  of  misfortune  and 
discouraging  obstacles,  he  is  now  comfortably  situated  and 
possesses  an  ample  fortune. 

He  was  born  in  Warrensburgh,  where  he  still  resides,  Octo- 
ber 18,  1812.  His  father,  JOHN  GRIFFIN,  was  a  native  of 


192  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Dutchess  county,  followed  farming  and  lumbering,  and  died 
in  1827.  He  was  of  Dutch  ancestry.  His  mother,  who 
died  in  1840,  was  a  native  of  Warren  county,  and  of  Scotch 
descent.  They  were  frugal,  honest  people,  and  though  they 
worked  hard  all  their  lives,  they  were  in  comparatively 
straightened  circumstances.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  was 
the  oldest  of  a  family  of  twelve,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
when  his  father  died,  the  care  and  education  of  the  entire 
family  devolved  upon  him.  He  had  very  little  opportunity 
therefore  of  securing  an  education  himself,  but  at  an  age 
when  other  boys  are  engaged  in  study,  he  went  to  work  with 
energy  to  acquit  himself  of  the  trust.  He  had  a  hard  strug- 
gle for  several  years,  but  he  succeeded  not  only  in  properly 
educating  his  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  and  starting 
them  fairly  in  life,  but  became  prosperous  and  wealthy  him- 
self, and  had  the  satisfaction  of  furnishing  his  mother 
with  a  comfortable  home  while  she  lived.  In  1838,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  MAKIA  COMAN,  of  Ehode  Island  ancestry.  He 
was  brought  up  as  a  farmer  and  lumberman,  and  is  now  en- 
gaged in  those  pursuits,  but  he  has  also  followed  other  branches 
of  business,  having  kept  a  hotel  several  years,  and  for  a  long 
period  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  life.  He  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  lose  a  large  portion  of  his  savings  in  the  panic  of 
1857,  but  his  energy  and  industry  soon  made  the  loss  good. 
It  will  be  seen  from  this  hasty  resume,  that  Mr.  GEIFFIN  is 
in  the  nature  of  things  a  self-made  man,  thoroughly  self-re- 
liant, and  capable  of  acquitting  himself  with  credit  in  what- 
ever situation  he  may  be  placed . 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  faithful  to 
party  traditions,  and  unswerving  in  his  allegiance.  For 
many  years  he  has  occupied  a  leading  position  among  the 
Democrats  of  Warren  county,  possessing  in  fact  a  controlling 
influence  in  the  caucuses  and  conventions  of  the  party.  Dur- 
ing most  of  his  life  he  has  served  his  town  in  official  capaci- 
ties, holding  at  different  times  various  town  offices.  For  six 
years  he  was  County  Superintendent  of  the  Poor,  and  dur- 


STEPHEN  H.  HAMMOND.  193 

ing  three  terms  he  represented  his  town  in  the  Board  of 
Supervisors.  His  present  service  in  the  Legislature  is  his 
first  essay  in  State  politics,  and  though  not  giving  to  speech- 
making,  he  has  shown  himself  thus  far  to  be  a  faithful  and 
efficient  member  of  the  lower  House.  He  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  246  over  G-EO.  W.  WAIT,  his  Eepublican  opponent, 
and  serves  on  the  Committees  on  Roads  and  Bridges,  Public 
Lands,  and  Trade  and  Manufactures. 

Mr.  GRIFFIN'S  parents  were  Methodists,  and  though  he 
himself  has  never  united  with  the  church,  he  is  a  regular 
attendant  at  the  religious  services  of  that  denomination. 


STEPHEN  H.  HAMMOND. 


STEPHEN  H.  HAMMOND,  the  efficient  Chairman  of  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee,  was  born  in  Groton,  Tompkins 
county,  ]ST.  Y.,  on  the  24th  day  of  November,  1828.  His 
father,  CLARK  HAMMOND,  came,  early  in  life,  from  Vermont, 
and  settled  in  Tompkins  county,  where  he  married  a  sister 
of  the  Hon.  E.  G.  SPAULDING,  now  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and 
the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  first  part  of 
Mr.  HAMMOND'S  life  was  spent  at  Ithaca  in  attendance,  in 
due  time,  at  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Ithaca  Academy, 
with  the  usual  struggles  and  accompaniments  which  follow 
youth  in  humble  life.  He  acquired,  however,  quite  early, 
much  general  information,  from  books  and  otherwise,  outside 
of  the  routine  of  mere  school  life,  and  his  intelligence,  and 
varied  and  extensive  reading,  soon  made  him  the  welcome 
companion  of  his  seniors  —  drawn  together  bytthe  common  tie 
of  a  love  for  literature.  His  law  studies  were  commenced  at 
this  time,  and  progressed  with  a  good  degree  of  success.  His 
literary  attainments  were  abundantly  recognized,  and  when, 

at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  was  announced  to  lecture  in  the 
25 


194  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

regular  winter  course  at  Ithaca,  the  large  hall,  on  the  even- 
ing appointed  for  the  lecture,  was  crowded  to  overflowing, 
and  hundreds  were  unable  to  gain  admittance.  This  success' 
stimulated  him  to  make  the  effort  to  secure  a  more  complete 
education,  and  he  accordingly  prepared  for  college,  and  in 
September,  1850,  entered  as  a  student  at  Geneva  (now  Hobart) 
College,  from  which  he  graduated,  in  1854,  with  distinguished 
honor.  Mr.  HAMMOND  spent  a  portion  of  his  last  college 
year  in  the  State  Treasurer's  office,  his  uncle,  Hon.  E.  G. 
SPAULDING,  being  then  Treasurer. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  HAMMOND  had  been  admitted  to 
practice  in  all  the  courts,  and  in  January,  1856,  he  received 
the  appointment  of  Deputy  Attorney-General  of  the  State, 
which  office  he  held  continuously  for  sixteen  years,  under  all 
shades  of  party  administration,  thus  being  brought  into  inti- 
mate relations  with  prominent  public  men  and  affairs  during 
a  very  memorable  period  of  the  history  of  the  State. 

Mr.  H.  married,  in  1856,  the  second  daughter  of  the  late 
Hon.  A.  W.  LANGDON,  of  Geneva,  in  this  State,  where  he 
now  resides. 

Mr.  HAMMOND  was  selected  to  deliver  the  address  before 
the  Alumni  of  Hobart  College,  in  July,  1871,  and  acquitted 
himself  with  great  credit.  The  correspondent  of  the  Neio 
York  Tribune  thus  referred  to  the  oration  on  that  occasion: 

"  His  theme  may  be  designated  as  '  The  Philosophy  of  the 
Times.'  It  was  an  exposition,  at  once  learned  and  popular, 
of  the  genius  and  characteristics  of  the  age.  He  signalized 
the  more  potent  forces  of  cotemporary  history,  indicated  the 
fundamental  distinctions  between  the  present  times  and 
other  times,  and  showed,  by  the  great  transforming  move- 
ments in  politics,  science,  industry,  society  and  war,  that  our 
age,  from  a  philosophical  point  of  view,  must  be  recognized 
as  among  the  wonderful  ages  of  the  world's  history.  About 
one  half  of  his  discourse  was  devoted  to  a  consideration  of 
the  subject  of  war  as  a  historical  phenomenon.  Here  his 
knowledge  of  history,  his  powers  of  description,  his  ability 
in  generalization,  had  full  scope.  He  concluded  by  showing 


STEPHEN  H.  HAMMOND.  195 

that,  though  the  enthusiastic  hopes  of  philanthropists  had 
not  been  realized,  that  though  in  fact  the  last  twenty  years 
had  been  one  of  the  most  sanguinery  periods- of  history,  there 
were  yet  the  profoundest  reasons  for  faith  in  the  approach 
of  an  era  of  universal  peace.  His  delivery  was  admirable, 
and  the  audience  rewarded  him  by  its  attention  and  ap- 
plause." 

Mr.  H.  is  serving  his  second  term  in  the  Assembly.  Hia 
great  familiarity  with  public  affairs,  in  consequence  of  his 
connection  with  the  Attorney-General's  office  for  so  long  a 
time,  adds  greatly  to  his  usefulness  in  the  Assembly ;  and 
Speaker  McGuiRE's  choice,  in  placing  him  at  the  head  of 
the  leading  Committee  of  the  House,  is  universally  approved. 

Last  year  he  served  on  the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  also 
on  the  Committee  on  Public  Printing.  Besides  his  Chair- 
manship of  the  Ways  and  Means,  he  serves  this  year  on 
Judiciary  and  Public  Printing.  His  election  as  a  Democrat, 
by  a  round  majority,  from  a  district  usually  largely  Repub- 
lican (Mr.  H.  being  the  third  only  in  a  quarter  of  a  century), 
is  an  endorsement  which  any  man  might  covet.  His  major- 
ities were,  in  1873,  236  ;  and  in  1874,  678.  During  this  and 
the  last  session,  Mr.  HAMMOND  has  been  prominent  as  the 
advocate  of  a  bill,  which  he  originated,  to  reform  abuses  in  the 
County  Treasurers'  offices,  and  to  simplify  the  mode  of  paying 
the  State  taxes.  He  has  also  initiated  several  bills  designed 
to  improve  the  practice  in  the  courts  of  the  State.  He  is,  in 
short,  one  of  the  most  active  and  valuable  members  of  the 
majority,  and  few  legislators,  enjoy  a  better  reputation  in 
every  way.  In  religion,  Mr.  H.  is  an  Episcopalian. 


196  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


PATRICK  HANRAHAN. 


PATRICK  HANRAHAN,  who  represents  the  First  District 
of  Erie  county,  was  born  in  county  Clare,  Ireland,  in  the 
year  1843.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  came 
to  this  country  at  an  early  age,  and  is  at  present  engaged  in 
the  grocery  business  in  Buffalo.  He  is  a  Roman  Catholic  in 
religious  belief,  and  has  been  a  life-long  Democrat  and  quite 
active  in  the  local  politics  of  Buffalo,  though  he  never  held 
office  until  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1873.  He  was 
chosen  in  that  year  over  JOHN"  O'BRIAN,  who  previously 
represented  the  district,  by  a  majority  of  469,  and  was  re- 
elected  by  a  majority  of  1,187  over  the  same  opponent.  He 
was  a  member,  last  year,  of  the  Joint  Library  Committee 
and  Sub-committee  of  the  Whole,  and  this  year  is  on  Com- 
merce and  Navigation,  Grievances  and  Two-Thirds  and 
Three-Fifths  Bills. 


GERMAIN  HAUSCHEL, 


Mr.  HAUSCHEL  is  one  of  the  most  watchful  of  members. 
Always  in  his  seat  with  a  well-thumbed  file  of  bills  before 
him,  he  keenly  watches  the  progress  of  law-making,  and  is 
therefore  prepared  to  act  understandingly  when  his  vote  is 
called  for.  He  is,  also,  a  man  of  much  force  of  character 
and  keen  judgment,  and  though  not  to  be  ranked  with  those 
who  have  the  trickeries  of  parliamentary  debate  at  their 
tongue's  end,  he  nevertheless  combines  within  himself  much 
of  the  material  of  which  statesmen  are  made ;  and  when  he 
addresses  the  House,  he  does  so  in  pointed  sentences  and  plain 
common-sense  language.  He  represents  an  important  dis- 
trict of  the  metropolis,  and  attends  faithfully  to  its  interests. 


GERMAIN  HAUSCHEL.  197 

Mr.  HAUSCHEL  is  a  German  by  birth  and  partly  by  educa- 
tion. He  was  born  at  Wendelsheim,  a  village  in  Wurtem- 
berg,  southern  Germany,  on  the  22d  of  September,  1839. 
JOSEPH  HAUSCHEL,  his  father,  was  a  school  teacher  in  Ger- 
many, and  also  taught  in  this  country,  in  Eichmond,  Va., 
and  Cincinnati,  0.  He  is  still  living ;  his  mother  died  when 
he  was  but  five  years  old.  Young  HAUSCHEL  emigrated  to 
America  with  his  father  in  1854,  previous  to  which  he  had 
attended  the  Latin  school  or  gymnasium  at  Eottenburg.  In 
this  country  he  attended  St.  Charles  College,  Howard 
county,  Md.,  and  St.  Peter's  Academy  at  Cumberland,  Md. 
He  was  intended  for  the  ministry,  but  abandoned  it  because  he 
felt  inclined  for  a  more  active  career  than  is  afforded  by  pul- 
pit or  pastoral  labor.  He  completed  his  collegiate  studies 
in  1858,  and  during  the  next  four  years  taught  school  at 
Allegheny  City,  Pa.,  and  read  law  with  the  firm  of  KIRK- 
PATEICK  &  MELLON.  Subsequently,  for  a  couple  of  years,  he 
edited  the  Pittsburgh  Republican,  the  daily  Democratic 
organ  of  the  Germans  in  that  city.  In  1865  he  removed  to 
New  York  city,  where,  for  three  or  four  years,  he  followed 
teaching,  prosecuting  his  legal  studies  meanwhile  with 
Judge  GROSS  of  the  Marine  court.  In  December,  1869,  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  has  practiced  law  ever  since. 

During  most  of  his  adult  life,  Mr.  HAUSCHEL  has  been  a 
Democrat.  He  cast  his  first  vote  for  President  LINCOLN"  and 
Governor  ANDREW  G.  CURTIN,  being  strongly  opposed  to 
slavery.  He  found  himself  unable,  however,  to  indorse  all 
the  measures  adopted  by  the  administration  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1861,  and  became  a  Democrat,  and 
with  that  party  he  has  since  steadfastly  acted,  taking  a  very 
active  part  in  most  of  the  elections  which  have  been  held, 
especially  in  the  MCCLELLAN,  SEYMOUR  and  GREELEY  cam- 
paigns. At  present  he  is  a  member  of  Tammany  Hall,  and 
is  Chairman  of  the  District  Committee.  He  never  before 
held  an  elective  office. 

His  success  in  the  recent  canvass  was   very  gratifying 


198  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

to  himself  and  his  friends.  He  was  opposed  by  JAMES  A. 
DEERING,  a  former  member  of  Assembly,  and  SIXTUS 
CHARLES  KAPFF,  a  popular  young  German,  who  together 
combined  against  him  the  influence  of  some  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  old  Tammany  Ring  interest,  the  Republi- 
cans and  the  Department  of  Public  Works.  Nevertheless 
he  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  265. 

Mr.  HAUSCHEL  was  married  October  25,  1860,  to  Miss 
EMMA  A.  GANTER,  a  native  of  Allegheny  City,  Pa.  In 
religious  faith  he  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  is  a  gentleman 
of  high  character,  refinement  and  culture.  Though  he  was 
brought  up  in  comparative  poverty,  and  was  obliged  to  teach 
school  for  a  living  while  prosecuting  his  legal  studies,  he  oc- 
cupies a  high  position  among  the  lawyers  of  New  York,  and 
has  been  very  successful. 


A.  BARTON  HEPBURN. 


Mr.  HEPBURN,  one  of  the  younger  members  of  the  House, 
is  a  lawyer  in  good  practice,  and  resides  in  Colton,  St.  Law- 
rence county,  representing  the  Second  district  of  that 
county.  He  is  a  young  man  of  ability,  and  takes  an  active 
part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Assembly.  He  was  born  in 
Colton,  July  24,  1846.  His  father  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
St.  Lawrence  county.  Mr.  HEPBURN,  the  elder,  was  a  man 
of  strict  probity  of  character  and  great  industry,  gaining 
nothing  except  as  the  reward  of  hard  and  persistent  labor. 
He  died  in  the  fall  of  1874.  Mr.  HEPBURN'S  mother,  who 
is  still  living,  is  a  sister  of  Hon.  N.  A.  GRAY  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  and  of  J.  W.  GRAY,  a  well-known  journalist  and 
founder  of  the  Cleveland  Plaindealer. 

Mr.  HEPBURN  is  liberally  educated,  and,  like  a  good  many 
prominent  Americans,  his  education  is  due  mainly  to  his  own 


A.  BARTON  HEPBURN.  199 

exertions.  He  left  home  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  begun 
unaided  the  task  of  acquiring  knowledge,  that  being  then 
the  supreme  desire  of  his  life.  To  secure  the  means  he  had 
recourse  to  teaching  in  winter,  and  farm  work  in  summer. 
He  spent  a  preparatory  period  in  Falley  Seminary  and  St. 
Lawrence  Academy,  and  entered  Middlebury  College,  Vt., 
in  1867.  He  went  no  further  than  the  beginning  of  the 
Sophomore  year,  however,  as  ill  health  compelled  him  to  re- 
linquish his  studies.  Subsequently,  he  became  Professor  of 
mathematics  and  physical  science  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Aca- 
demy, and  later,  in  1870,  we  find  him  Principal  of  the 
Ogdensburgh  Educational  Institute.  He  read  law  for  a  time 
with  FOOT  &  JAMES  at  Ogdensburgh,  and  in  November 
1871,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar ;  since  which  time  he  has 
been  engaged  in  legal  practice  at  Colton. 

Mr.  HEPBUBN  has  always  acted  with  the  Kepublican  party, 
casting  his  first  vote  for  candidates  of  that  political  persua- 
sion, and  has  been  quite  active  in  the  political  councils  of 
his  county.  At  the  time  of  his  election  he  held  the  office  of 
School  Commissioner,  which  he  had  held  since  July,  1871, 
but  he  resigned  the  position  in  order  to  take  his  seat  in  the 
Assembly.  He  was  elected  to  that  body  by  a  plurality  of 
1,551  over  Democratic  and  Prohibition  opponents,  and 
serves  acceptably  on  the  Committees  on  Affairs  of  Villages 
and  Education. 

Mr.  HEPBURN  was  married  in  December,  1873.  He  is  a 
man  of  earnest  impulses,  unimpeachable  character  and 
pleasing  exterior,  possessing  many  of  the  traits  of  his  highly 
respected  father,  and  is  much  esteemed  by  those  who  know 
him.  Three  older  brothers  were  captains  in  the  Union  Army 
during  the  rebellion,  and  all  of  them  served  with  credit. 


200  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JACOB  HESS. 


Mr.  HESS  is  one  of  the  youngest  and  most  active  members 
of  the  lower  House.  He  represents  the  Twentieth  District 
of  New  York,  and  is  one  of  the  four  Eepublican  members  of 
the  metropolitan  delegation.  He  was  born  in  Hesse  Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  'November  18,  1847.  He  was  brought  to 
this  country  by  his  parents  when  only  three  years  old,  and 
having  resided  in  New  York  city  all  his  life,  he  is,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  an  American  in  education  and  feeling. 
He  received  a  good  education  in  the  public  schools  and  pri- 
vate academies  of  New  York  city,  and  early  became  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits,  in  which  he  has  continued  to  the 
present  time,  being  now  a  prosperous  commission  merchant 
in  West  Washington  market.  He  started  in  business  with- 
out capital  save  an  energetic  and  determined  spirit,  and  is 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed  in  New  York  commercial 
circles.  In  the  politics  of  his  district,  he  has  always  identi- 
fied himself  with  the  Eepublicans,  exercising,  however,  con- 
siderable independence  in  his  support  of  men  and  measures. 
He  has  never  before  held  office;  but  the  fact  that  he  was 
elected  by  over  700  majority,  in  a  district  ordinarily  Demo- 
cratic by  a  very  large  preponderance,  ought  to  encourage  him 
to  continue  in  public  life.  He  is  very  popular  among  his 
German  fellow-citizens,  and  indeed,  among  all  classes.  In 
the  Assembly  he  is  prominent  and  popular,  and  is  an  efficient 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Cities. 


OTIS  D.  HINCKLET.  201 


OTIS  D.  HINCKLEY. 


The  representative  of  the  First  Chautauqua  District  is  a 
pleasant  appearing  gentleman  of  middle  age.  His  voice  is 
not  often  heard  upon  the  floor,  but  he  is,  nevertheless,  active 
and  wide  awake  in  behalf  of  local  legislation,  as  well  as  fully 
posted  as  regards  the  general  business  of  the  House. 

Mr.  OTIS  D.  HINCKLET  was  born  in  Leicester,  Livingston 
county,  August  12,  1827.  He  is  of  English  descent,  his  an- 
cestry on  both  sides  having  settled  in  Massachusetts  at  an  early 
period  in  the  history  of  that  commonwealth.  He  was  edu- 
cated mainly  in  the  Westfield  and  Fredonia  academies,  and 
on  completing  his  studies,  turned  his  attention  to  mercantile 
pursuits.  These  he  followed  a  number  of  years,  but  for  some 
time  past  he  has  been  a  civil  engineer. 

Mr.  HINCKLEY  was  brought  up  in  the  old  Whig  party, 
being  attached  to  the  HENRY  CLAY  wing;  but,  on  the 
organization  of  the  Republican  party,  he  joined  it,  and  has 
remained  with  it  to  the  present  day.  He  has  always  been 
active  in  politics,  and  has  held  several  important  local  offices 
in  his  county.  For  22  years  past  he  has  held  the  office  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  being  regularly  re-elected,  sometimes 
without  opposition.  He  has  also  been  Deputy  Clerk  of 
Chautauqua  county,  and  Justice  of  Sessions.  In  the  winter 
of  1869,  he  was  Clerk  of  the  Engrossing  Committee  of  the 
Assembly.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  last  fall,  after  a 
very  close  contest  with  his  Democratic  opponent,  THEO.  S. 
Moss,  and  serves  on  the  Committee  on  Public  Health. 


202  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WILLIAM  HOGAN. 


Mr.  HOGAN  is  a  wide-awake  and  influential  Democrat  of 
Seneca  county.  He  was  born  in  Fayette,  in  that  county, 
April  15,  1822,  and  received  a  liberal  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Fayette  and  Waterloo,  and  at  the  University 
of  St.  Louis.  Early  in  his  career,  he  followed*  teaching,  but 
he  subsequently  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  and  then 
to  mercantile  pursuits.  In  all  of  them,  he  has  displayed 
marked  ability,  and  won  a  fair  degree  of  success. 

He  has  been  prominent  in  Seneca  county  politics  for  many 
years,  and  has  held  numerous  offices  of  responsibility.  He 
served  as  Town  Superintendent  of  Schools  for  two  terms ; 
was  County  Superintendent  of  Schools  in  1847,  Justice  of 
the  Peace  during  four  terms,  and  School  Commissioner  of 
Seneca  county  during  two  terms,  in  1857  and  1870.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  135  over  MARTIN 
L.  ALLEN",  the  Republican  candidate. 

Mr.  HOGAN  is  able  to  talk,  and  to  talk  well,  upon  the 
floor,  but  he  seldom  addresses  the  House,  being  content  to 
perform  his  duties  quietly  and  modestly.  He  is  a  man  some- 
what above  the  medium  height,  with  jet  black  hair  and 
whiskers,  dark  complexion,  and  grave  and  intellectual  cast 
of  countenance.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Canals,  Public  Education  and  Joint  Library. 


DANIEL  M.  HOLMES.  203 


DANIEL  M.  HOLMES. 


Mr."  HOLMES  has  the  honor  of  representing  a  Republican 
district,  though  at  times,  as  was  the  case  last  fall,  the  figures 
are  pretty  close.  He  was  born  in  New  London  county, 
Conn.,  November  7,  1818.  He  was  educated  partly  in  com- 
mon schools,  and  partly  in  Mystic  Academy,  in  Connecticut. 
At  the  age  of  18,  he  removed  to  Chenango  county,  and  for 
several  years  he  taught  school  winters  and  worked  at  farm- 
ing summers.  Finally  he  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business, 
which  he  continued  successfully  for  a  period  of  26  years. 
He  has  in  the  meantime  held  numerous  local  positions  of 
trust.  He  was  School  Inspector  under  the  old  school  law, 
and  when  the  new  law  was  passed  about  the  year  1842,  he 
was  the  first  Town  Superintendent  of  his  locality  under  it. 
He  has  been  Trustee  of  the  village  of  Norwich  six  consecu- 
tive years,  and  during  the  entire  period  of  the  war,  was 
Supervisor  of  the  town  of  Norwich,  and  a  member  of 
the  County  Committee  of  Three,  for  paying  the  county 
bounty  to  volunteers.  He  was  also  Chairman  of  the  Town 
Committee  during  the  war,  for  recruiting  and  paying  boun- 
ties to  volunteers.  In  the  performance  of  this  duty,  fully 
half  a  million  dollars  passed  through  his  hands.  At  the 
present  time,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of 
Norwich  Academy  and  Union  Free  School,  and  was  formerly 
Trustee  of  Norwich  Academy. 

Mr.  HOLMES  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  occupies  a 
leading  position  in  his  county.  Last  fall  the  Assembly 
canvass  was  hotly  contested  on  both  sides,  but  he  received 
the  handsome  majority  of  326  over  E.  J.  LOOMIS,  the  Repub- 
lican candidate,  against  the  Republican  majority  the  pre- 
vious year  of  136,  and  also  in  face  of  the  fact  that  Gov.  Dix's 
majority  in  the  district  was  654.  It  may  therefore  be  as- 
sumed that  he  enjoys  some  popularity  at  home. 


204  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Since  his  advent  at  Albany,  he  has  taken  part  in  a  number 
of  important  discussions  on  the  floor,  and  his  strong  speeches 
in  opposition  to  the  repeal  of  the  Midland  tax  exemption  bill 
created  a  marked  impression. 


NATHANIEL  M.  HOUGHTON. 


Dr.  HOUGHTON  has  acquired  considerable  familiarity  with 
legislation,  the  present  being  his  fourth  term  of  service  in 
the  Legislature.  He  is  a  man  of  the  sternest  honesty  of 
character,  and  though  he  says  very  little,  and  is  even  a  trifle 
ungraceful  in  his  speech,  his  unfrequent  remarks  are  always 
straight  to  the  point,  and  embody  wholesome  truths.  He 
is  a  vigilant  representative  of  the  interests  of  his  constitu- 
ents, and  though  he  occupies  in  the  Assembly  chamber  the 
farthest  corner  of  "  Sleepy  Hollow,"  he  does  not  permit  him- 
self to  be  caught  napping. 

NATHANIEL  MITCHELL  HOUGHTON  was  born  in  Corinth, 
Saratoga  county,  on  the  23d  of  January,  1816.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  was  a  farm  and  stock 
dealer.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  MITCHELL, 
was  born  and  reared  at  Proctorsville,  Vt.  Mr.  HOUGHTON'S 
early  educational  advantages  were  very  limited.  Six  or  eight 
months  at  a  district  school  embraced  the  extent  of  his  op- 
portunities. He  is  therefrom  a  self-taught  and  self-made 
man,  owing  much  of  his  early  training,  however,  to  the 
teachings  of  his  mother.  Later  he  pursued  the  study  of 
medicine  in  the  Castleton  Medical  College  of  Vermont,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1843.  He  then  practiced  as  a  physi- 
cian for  many  years  with  marked  success,  but  was  compelled 
a  few  years  ago,  to  abandon  the  profession  on  account  of 
impaired  health.  During  ten  years  past  he  has  been  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  lumber,  and  also  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  in  both  of  which  he  has  been  very  successful. 


NATHANIEL  M.  HOUGHTON.  205 

Dr.  HOTJGHTON  was  a  "Whig  until  the  organization  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  has  since  been  a  firm  and  uncompro- 
mising Republican,  having  the  reputation  of  being  somewhat 
radical  in  his  ideas.  He  has  never  swerved  from  his  allegiance, 
however,  being  always  an  ardent  Whig  as  long  as  the  party 
lasted,  and  afterward  an  equally  ardent  Republican.  Being 
always  active  and  thoroughly  reliable  in  his  political  attach- 
ment, he  has  frequently  been  selected  to  fill  important  offi- 
ces. He  has  held  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Schools  of 
his  town  four  or  five  times,  and  has  also  been  Supervisor, 
and  an  incumbent  of  other  local  positions.  As  already  inti- 
mated, the  present  is  his  fourth  term  of  service  in  the  Assem- 
bly, having  thus  represented  his  district  in  1862,  1863,  1872, 
and  now  1875.  His  majorities  ranged  from  969  to  1,430. 
His  course  in  the  Assembly  has  been  exceedingly  satisfactory 
to  his  constituents,  among  whom  he  is  held  in  the  highest 
regard.  His  personal  manner  is  marked  by  eccentric  char- 
acteristics, and  his  exterior  is  rough,  and  to  a  stranger  rather 
uninviting,  but  a  closer  acquaintance  develops  true  qualities 
of  head  and  heart,  and  no  man  in  the  House  possesses  a  more 
kindly  disposition,  or  more  native  courtesy  of  manner  than 
the  gentleman  from  Saratoga. 

He  was  married  in  1846,  to  Miss  0.  A.  DAYTON,  of  War- 
ren county,  N.  Y.  Though  he  is  a  member  of  no  religious 
organization,  he  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  orthodox  doctrines 
held  by  evangelical  denominations. 


206  LIFF  SKETCHES. 


ERASTUS  H.  HUSSEY. 


Mr.  HUSSEY  is  a  native  and  life-long  resident  of  the  town 
of  Ledyard,  Cayuga  county,  and  owns  a  fine  farm  near  the 
village  of  Aurora.  He  was  born,  January  19,  1827,  and 
though  he  has  thus  reached  his  forty-seventh  year,  he  has 
never  married.  He  has  been  a  farmer  since  boyhood,  and 
during  his  early  years  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  good 
common  school  and  academic  education.  Being  also  a 
good  reader  and  keen  observer,  he  is,  in  addition  to  being  a 
persistent  and  hard-working  agriculturist,  a  gentleman  of 
considerable  culture,  and  well  posted  upon  public  affairs. 
He  is  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  unusually  sensible  views 
upon  all  questions,  and  few  men  in  his  locality  are  more 
highly  esteemed.  The  confidence  felt  in  him  by  the  com- 
munity is  perhaps  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
has  been  regularly  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors since  the  year  1867.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly, 
in  1873,  by  a  majority  of  1,292,  though  two  candidates  ran 
against  him,  EFFINGHAM  T.  BROWN,  Democrat,  and  WM.  H. 
MANCHESTER,  Temperance.  The  vote  was  an  extraordinary 
light  one,  and,  under  the  circumstances,  the  large  majority 
he  received  was  exceedingly  gratifying.  Last  fall  he  was 
re-elected  by  a  majority  of  440  over  JEROME  S.  FULLER,  who 
received  the  Democratic  and  Prohibition  vote.  He  is  to  be 
ranked  rather  among  the  workers  than  among  the  talkers 
of  the  Assembly,  and  served  acceptably,  last  year,  upon  the 
Committees  on  Villages,  and  Trade  and  Manufactures,  and 
this  year  on  Villages,  and  Privileges  and  Elections. 

Mr.  HUSSEY  has  been  uniformly  successful  in  his  farming 
operations,  and  is  therefore  in  comfortable  circumstances. 
The  fact  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
that  he  endeavors  conscientiously  to  square  his  life  in  accord- 
ance with  the  precepts  of  that  sect,  is,  perhaps,  a  sufficient 
indication  of  his  personal  character. 


JAMES  W.  HUSTED.  20? 


JAMES  W.  HUSTED. 


Gen.  HUSTED'S  personal  record,  during  the  twenty  years 
or  more  he  has  mingled  in  the  politics  of  the  State,  has  been 
a  brilliant  one.  Born  in  Bedford,  in  this  State,  on  the  31st 
of  October,  1833,  and  descended  from  an  ancestry  chiefly  re- 
markable for  honesty  and  respectability,  he  enjoyed  fair 
opportunities  during  his  youth.  He  prepared  for  college  at 
the  Bedford  Academy,  in  his  native  town,  and  at  quife  an 
early  age  entered  Yale  College,  from  which  he  graduated  on 
reaching  his  majority  in  1854.  While  in  college  he  stood  well 
with  his  class,  and  was  complimented  with  university  honors 
when  he  graduated.  Subsequently,  he  studied  law  with 
EDWARD  WELLS,  of  Peekskill,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1857.  As  a  lawyer  he  possesses  fine  abilities,  and  is  re- 
garded with  confidence  and  respect.  His  political  life  has 
been  somewhat  varied,  and  not  entirely  devoid  of  vicissitudes. 
In  the  early  years  of  his  career  he  was  identified  with  the 
American  party  and  served  two  years  as  Secretary  of  the 
State  Council  of  that  short-lived  organization.  He  was 
selected  Town  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  in  1855, 
on  the  Know-Nothing  ticket,  'and  in  1858  he  was  chosen  by 
the  same  party  as  one  of  the  School  Commissioners  of  West- 
dhester  county.  But  in  1859  "  Know-Nothingism  "  degen- 
erated into  a  mere  tender  to  the  Democratic  party  of  the 
day,  and  Mr.  HUSTED  became  disgusted  and  left  it,  feeling 
justly  that  he  could  not  consent  to  a  betrayal  of  the  princi- 
ples upon  which  the  party  was  founded. 

During  the  Utica  Convention,  held  in  that  year,  when 
the  "  Hybrid "  ticket  was  formed,  he  published  a  protest 
against  it  and  joined  the  Eepublican  party.  In  1860  he 
was  appointed  Deputy  Superintendent  of  the  State  Insur- 
ance Department  by  Hon.  WILLIAM  BARNES,  the  then 


208  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Superintendent,  and  during  the  presidential  campaign  of 
that  year  was  Vice-President  of  the  large  and  flourishing  club 
of  Albany  "  Wide  Awakes,"  of  which  Hon.  J.  MEREDITH 
BEAD,  Jr.,  now  minister  to  Greece,  was  President.  During 
this  campaign  Mr.HusxED  performed  effective  service  for  the 
Republican  cause.  Since  1862  he  has  been  Harbor  Master 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  until  recently,  was  Deputy 
Captain  of  the  port. 

In  the  fall  of  1868  Mr.  HUSTED  was  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly from  the  Third  district  of  Westchester  county  by  307 
majority.  He  made  an  honorable  record  as  a  debater  and 
as  a  legislator  during  his  first  session,  being  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Federal  Relations,  and  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Commerce  and  Navigation.  The  next  year 
he  was  re-elected  by  1,144  majority,  running  837  ahead  of 
his  ticket,  and  417  ahead  in  his  own  town.  Since  then  he 
has  been  regularly  re-elected,  his  majority  in  1871  reaching 
the  unprecedented  figure  of  1,509.  In  1872,  owing  to  local 
complications  and  the  defection  of  Liberal  Republicans,  it 
was  reduced  to  502,  but  in  1873  he  again  demonstrated  his 
popularity  and  astonished  friends  as  well  as  opponents  by 
achieving  a  majority  of  1,864.  Last  fall  the  "tidal  wave" 
had  its  effect  upon  his  district,  and  his  majority  was  reduced 
to  444,  two  candidates  running  against  him.  He  has  served 
on  the  Committees  on  Commerce  and  Navigation,  Insur- 
ance, Militia,  Ways  and  Means,  Grievances,  Rules  and  Fed- 
eral Relations,  being  again  Chairman  of  the  latter  Committee 
in  1872,  and  Chairman  of  Education  in  1873.  In  1872  he 
was  also  Chairman  of  Rules,  Local  and  Special  Laws,  and 
Congressional  Apportionment,  being  again  Chairman  of 
Congressional  Apportionment  in  1873. 

Last  year,  as  Speaker  of  the  House,  General  HTJSTED 
added  greatly  to  his  reputation  as  an  able  parliamentarian, 
and  won  the  high  praise  as  well  as  the  formal  thanks  of 
minority  and  majority  members  alike,  for  the  impartiality  of 
his  rulings,  and  the  uniform  dignity,  courtesy  and  ability 


JAMES  W.  HUSTED.  209 

with  which  he  discharged  his  exceedingly  difficult  duties  in 
the  chair. 

Gen.  HUSTED  has  been  frequently  honored  with  responsible 
positions  by  the  party  to  which  he  belongs,  and  he  in  turn 
has  honored  the  party  with  his  best  efforts,  but  his  sphere  of 
useful  activity  has  not  been  confined  to  politics.  He  is  one 
of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  in 
the  State,  and  has  reached  to  the  highest  honors  in  the  order, 
being  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Knights  Templar,  and 
entitled  to  wear  the  jewel  of  the  33d  degree.  For  several 
years  he  has  held  the  rank  of  D.  D.  G.  M.,  and  is  now  Junior 
Grand  Warden.  He  has  also  been  Judge  Advocate  on  the 
staff  of  the  Seventh  Brigade,  New  York  State  Militia. 

On  March  26,  1873,  he  was  nominated  by  Gov.  Dix  to  be 
Major-General  of  the  Fifth  Division  of  the  National  Guard, 
in  place  of  Gen.  GATES,  who  had  resigned,  and  he  was  imme- 
diately confirmed  by  the  Senate.  The  appointment  was 
universally  recognized  as  an  eminently  fit  one,  and  none  were 
more  hearty  in  their  congratulations  than  his  fellow  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly.  On  the  evening  after  the  announce- 
ment of  his  appointment,  the  following  resolution  was  offered 
by  a  Democratic  member  (Mr.  McGuiKE),  and  unanimously 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  always  feeling  a  deep  interest  in  the  per- 
sonal and  official  relations  of  our  fellow-members,  and  a  warm 
regard  for  them  individually,  we  desire  to  express  our  heart- 
felt thanks  to  Gov.  Dix  for  his  promotion  of  the  Hon.  JAMES 
W.  HUSTED  to  the  command  of  the  military  forces  of  the 
Fifth  Division,  and  that,  as  he  has  been  first  in  peace,  we 
know  he  will,  in  the  event  of  a  great  military  necessity,  be 
first  in  war,  and  in  the  future  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen. 

The   General's  popularity  among   the  members   of   the 
National  Guard  is  well  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  unani- 
mously elected,  in  January,  1874,  as  President  of  the  State 
27 


210  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Military  Association.  During  the  present  session,  he  has 
actively  promoted  the  passage  of  important  amendments 
to  the  military  code. 

General  HUSTED  has  enjoyed  a  pre-eminence  among  poli- 
ticians and  legislators  by  reason  of  his  splendid  abilities.  Few 
men  in  the  State  excel  him  in  those  accomplishments  which 
mark  the  successful  statesman.  He  possesses  a  clear  and 
brilliant  intellect,  sound  judgment,  a  ready  off-hand  manner, 
and  is,  withal,  an  acute  reasoner  and  polished  orator ;  and 
when  we  add  that  his  gifts  of  mind  and  heart  are  never 
used  to  further  corrupt  or  doubtful  schemes,  we  complete  a 
catalogue  which  is  infinitely  to  the  credit  of  our  subject. 

His  dashing  style  of  debate,  and  the  lightning-like  rapidity 
with  which  he  grasps  the  situation  of  the  moment,  together 
with  his  bold,  concise  and  incisive  mode  of  argument,  and 
sometimes  startling  readiness  at  repartee,  render  him  not  only 
formidable  to  his  opponents,  but  exceedingly  popular  among 
all  classes  of  men.  He  is  a  master  of  the  art  of  sarcasm,  and, 
as  he  usually  veils  his  keen  and  merciless  retorts  in  elegant 
language  and  apt  classical  allusion,  the  wounds  made  by  his 
sharp  thursts  produce  much  more  pleasure  than  pain,  even  to 
those  upon  whom  they  are  inflicted.  In  the  most  exciting 
passages  of  partisan  debate,  Mr.  HUSTED  is  ever  courteous 
and  cool,  while  in  argument  he  is  clear,  connected  and  logical, 
his  more  ambitious  speeches  being  frequently  enriched  with 
pointed  anecdote  and  scholarly  illustration.  He  speaks  very 
rapidly,  and  has  surprising  command  of  language,  while  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  parliamentary  rules  enables  him  to 
be  perfectly  at  home  in  the  most  bewildering  cross-fire  of 
motions  and  counter-motions  characteristic  of  legislative 
fillibustering  and  bushwhacking. 

Socially,  the  ex-Speaker  possesses  rare  gifts.  'Genial  and 
talented,  a  brilliant  conversationalist,  and  an  adept  in  all  the 
accomplishments  and  qualities  which  constitute  the  gentle- 
man, he  is  peculiarly  fitted  to  ornament  society  and  win 
.  friendship  and  esteem.  His  unaffected  manners  and  sterling 


SILAS  T.  IVES.  211 

qualities  have  rendered  him  extremely  popular  with  the  peo- 
ple at  large,  while  the  same  traits,  in  connection  with  his 
solid  attainments,  have  secured  him  hosts  of  friends  in  the 
fields  of  letters  and  politics. 


SILAS  T.  IVES. 


Mr.  IVES  is  the  representative  of  the  Second  district 
of  Oneida  county.  He  is  a  fine  looking  gentleman,  large  of 
frame,  benevolent  of  countenance,  and  of  attractive  man- 
ners and  address.  He  is,  besides,  a  sterling  and  faithful 
Democrat,  self-made  in  the  largest  acceptation  of  the  phrase, 
and  in  every  way  an  earnest  and  efficient  member  of  the 
lower  House.  He  was  born  in  Clinton,  Oneida  county, 
December  [26,  1828,  his  parents  originally  coming  from 
Connecticut.  He  received  a  good  English  education  in  the 
district  schools  of  his  native  place,  and  in  the  Clinton  Liberal 
Institute,  and  has  followed  the  business  of  a  butcher  during 
most  of  his  life,  though  he  has  also  engaged  in  other  pursuits 
at  different  times. 

Mr.  IVES  has  always  been  very  active  in  local  politics,  ex- 
ercising a  controlling  influence  in  the  Democratic  councils 
of  his  town  and  county,  and  also  at  the  party  conventions. 
For  a  number  of  years  past  he  has  regularly  attended  the 
Democratic  State  Conventions,  either  as  looker-on  and  ad- 
viser, or  as  delegate.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Utica  Con- 
vention of  1873.  A  Democrat  by  nature  and  education,  he 
has  always  acted  with  the  party,  and  is  thoroughly  embued 
with  its  principles. 

He  has  held  a  number  of  local  offices  during  his  career, 
but  has  never  before  been  in  the  Legislature.  In  1870  he 
was  Trustee  of  his  village,  and  in  1872  was  its  President,  and 
through  his  efforts  the  town  was  carried  for  GKEELEY  by 


21/J  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

three  majority,  though  it  had  not  given  a  Democratic  ma- 
jority in  forty  years.  In  1873  and  1874  he  served  as  Super- 
visor from  the  town  of  Kirkland,  and  was  Chairman  of  the 
Sheriff  Committee,  through  whose  instrumentality  very  seri- 
ous charges  were  recently  brought  against  Sheriff  BENEDICT. 
He  was  also  Village  Trustee  last  year.  In  his  public  action 
he  is  a  reformer,  and  he  devotes  much  time  and  effort  to 
weeding  out  abuses  in  the  body  politic.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Assembly  by  a  plurality  of  175  over  JOHN  W.  BOTCE, 
Eepublican,  and  SILAS  PUKDT,  Prohibition.  He  serves  on 
the  Committees  on  Insurance,  Militia  and  Indian  Affairs.  In 
religious  matters  he  holds  liberal  views,  while  his  integrity  as 
a  business  man  is  unquestioned. 


WILLARD  JOHNSON. 


Mr.  JOHNSON  is  of  New  England  parentage,  his  father, 
LOWELL  JOHNSON,  having  been  a  native  of  Vermont,  while 
his  mother  was  born  in  Massachusetts.  He  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Volney,  Oswego  county,  on  the  16th  of  May,  1820. 
He  attended  common  school  at  an  early  age,  and  subse- 
quently attended  the  Mexico  and  Cazenovia  academies,  thus 
securing  an  excellent  education.  In  the  year  1852,  he 
engaged  in  the  lake  and  canal  transportation  business  at 
Fulton,  and  continued  it  successfully  for  about  twelve  years. 
Afterward  he  became  a  contractor  and  has  completed  several 
important  works  for  the  State  and  national  governments, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river  at  Rock  Island,  and  the  construction  of  a 
lock  in  the  Illinois  river,  which  is  probably  the  largest  in 
the  world,  being  350  feet  long,  75  feet  wide  and  30  feet 
high,  and  capable  of  accommodating  twelve  ordinary  canal 
boats  at  once.  He  has  been  largely  engaged  in  work  upon 


WILLARD  JOHNSON.  213 

the  canals,  and  has  successfully  completed  contracts  which 
amount,  in  the  aggregate,  to  several  millions  of  dollars. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  has  always  been  a  Democrat  of  the  old 
school,  and  for  many  years  he  has  been  prominent  in  the 
councils  of  that  party.  During  the  rebellion  he  was  classed 
as  a  War  Democrat,  and  gave  his  influence  and  means  freely 
to  the  cause  of  the  Union.  In  1862  he  was  elected  to  the 
Assembly  without  opposition,  and  co-operated  heartily  in  all 
the  measures  designed  to  sustain  the  national  government  in 
the  contest  which  was  then  being  waged  against  armed  treason. 
Subsequently  he  served  two  years  on  the  War  Committee  of 
Oswego  county.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  in  the  years  1861  and  1862.  In  1860,  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  memorable  Charleston  Convention,  and  was 
afterward  also  a  delegate  to  the  National  Democratic  Con- 
ventions at  Chicago  in  1864,  in  New  York  in  1868,  and  in 
Baltimore  in  1872.  During  the  five  war  years,  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Committee.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
Mr.  JOHNSON'S  political  experience  is  extensive  and  varied, 
and  there  are  really  few  men  in  Central  New  York  whose 
counsel  is  held  in  greater  estimation.  He  still  holds  to  the 
political  creed  of  his  earlier  years,  and  is  popular  among 
the  Democrats  of  Oswego,  and,  ittdeed,  among  men  of  all 
parties.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  in 
1872  by  a  majority  of  189,  over  THOMAS  W.  GREEN,  Eepub- 
lican,  who  represented  the  district  the  previous  year,  re- 
elected  in  1873  by  a  majority  of  747,  CHARLES  D.  WALKUP 
being  his  opponent,  and  again  elected  last  fall  by  a  majority 
of  970  over  HENRY  C.  HOWE,  Eepublican.  In  1873  he 
served  on  the  Committees  on  Roads  and  Bridges,  Internal 
Affairs  and  Militia ;  in  1874  on  Commerce  and  Navigation 
and  Internal  Affairs,  and  is  at  present  Chairman  of  Internal 
Affairs  and  member  of  Ways  and  Means.  He  is  a  man  of 
modest,  unassuming  deportment,  and  seldom  addresses  the 
House,  being  a  man  who  believes  in  action  rather  than 
words.  His  large  experience,  ripe  judgment  and  active 


214  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

mind  are  of  great  value,  however,  in  the  practical  work  of 
legislation.  He  was  married,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven, 
to  MAET  GASPE,  and  as  a  result  of  his  prudently  managed 
business  operations,  he  is  quite  wealthy. 


WILLIAM  A.  JOHNSON. 


WILLIAM  ALFOED  JOHNSON  was  born  at  Collins,  Erie 
county,  New  York,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1834,  upon  the  farm 
and  in  the  house  where  he  at  present  resides.  His  father, 
KENDALL  JOHNSON,  a  farmer,  was  of  New  England  descent, 
and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town.  The  subject  of  our 
sketch  is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  nine  children.  His 
father  died  a  few  months  before  his  birth.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  JULIA  FORD,  and  is  likewise  of  New  Eng- 
land descent.  She  still  survives,  and  resides  at  her  old 
home  with  her  son.  Mr.  JOHNSON  owns  and  carries  on  the 
farm  upon  which  he  was  born;  but  it  is  the  least  of  his 
cares.  His  \name  is  inseparably  identified  with  the  cheese 
manufacturing  interests  of  Western  New  York.  The  Marsh- 
field  Cheese  Factory,  of  which  he  owns  a  controlling  interest, 
is,  with  its  seventeen  branch  factories,  the  largest  in  the  State, 
and  probably  the  largest  in  the  world.  The  main  Marshfield 
factory,  was  the  first  undertaking  of  the  kind  in  that  part  of 
the  country,  and,  like  Aaron's  rod,  it  has  swallowed  up  the 
most  of  its  less  ably  managed  competitors.  It  annually 
manufactures  about  2,300,000  pounds  of  cheese.  The 
proceeds  of  a  single  sale  have  reached  $47,000.  Mr.  JOHN- 
SON has  been  too  busy  during  his  life  to  mingle  much  in 
politics.  Hitherto  he  has  been  simply  the  modest,  unassum- 
ing, successful  man  of  business.  He  has  never  held  an 
office  other  than  the  one  he  now  holds.  His  business  integ- 
rity, as  well  as  ability,  are  too  well  known  to  be  questioned 


JOHN  KEENAN.  215 

by  even  his  bitterest  enemies,  of  whom,  however,  he  has  very 
few.  He  has  not  had  more  than  ordinary  common  school 
advantages ;  but  from  earliest  childhood  he  displayed  great 
aptitude  and  love  for  his  studies.  His  especial  forte  was 
mathematics,  and  he  has  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  correct 
and  careful  accountant,  and  from  boyhood  one  of  his  chief 
pleasures  has  been  derived  from  the  solution  of  mathematical 
problems.  But  for  an  innate  love  of,  and  capacity  for,  busi- 
ness, he  would  have  attained  distinction  in  the  walks  of 
learning.  Diffident  to  a  fault,  he  has  to  be  known,  and 
known  intimately,  to  be  appreciated.  In  active  life  few  men 
accomplish  so  much  with  so  little  noise. 

Mr.  JOHNSON'S  parents  were  Baptists.  He  is  orthodox  in 
his  religious  views,  though  not  a  member  of  a  church. 

In  politics  he  has  ever  been  a  Republican.  He  cast  his 
first  vote  when  the  foundations  of  the  party  were  being  laid, 
and  has  supported  it  steadily  ever  since. 


JOHN  KEENAN. 


Mr.  KEENAN"  represents  the  Twelfth  New  York  district, 
and  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  February  27, 
1844.  He  came  to  this  country  at  an  early  age,  however, 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  New  York  city.  There  he 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  afterward 
became  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  He  is  at  present  a 
dealer  in  wines  and  liquors,  and  is  doing  a  prosperous  busi- 
ness. He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  plurality  of  930, 
two  candidates,  JOSEPH  AROHBOLD,  Republican,  and  L.  S. 
GOEBEL,  Independent  Democrat,  being  opposed  to  him. 
He  is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands  and 
member  of  Expenditures  of  the  Executive  Department,  and 


216  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Trade  and  Manufactures.  He  has  very  little  to  say  in  the 
House,  but  he  is  seldom  absent  from  the  sessions,  and  is 
regarded  as  a  very  attentive  and  efficient  member  of  the 
present  Assembly. 


JOHN  R.  KENNADAY. 


Mr.  KENNADAY  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  foremost 
members  of  the  present  majority  in  the  State  Assembly. 
He  is  always  in  his  seat,  closely  watchful  of  the  progress  of 
legislation,  and  no  measure  which  does  not  commend  itself 
to  his  judgment  passes  unchallenged.  I[e  wields  a  com- 
manding influence  in  the  House,  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  has  thus  far  acquitted  himself,  shows  that  Speaker  Mo 
GUIRE  made  a  wise  selection  when  he  placed  him  at  the  head 
of  what  is  now  one  of  the  most  important  committees  in  the 
Assembly,  that  on  General  Laws. 

JOHN  EGBERT  KENNADAY  was  born  in  Kingston,  N.  T., 
on  the  12th  of  September,  1830.  Both  his  parents  were  na- 
tives of  New  York  city,  his  father  being  the  late  Eev.  JOHN 
KENNADAY,  D.  D.,  a  prominent  clergyman  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  a  colleague,  and  in  some  respects  the 
counter-part,  of  Rev.  Dr.  BETHTJNE.  The  services  of  these 
two  divines,  as  representing  what  is  best  in  the  life  and  his- 
tory of  Brooklyn,  and  in  brilliant  and  effective  pulpit  work, 
are  a  part  of  the  most  cherished  record  of  the  city  of 
churches.  Dr.  KENNADAY,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1863, 
was  presiding  elder  of  the  Long  Island  Conference  district. 

Young  KENNADAY  received  an  excellent  preparation  for 
college,  and  graduated  at  an  early  age  with  distinction  from 
Dickinson  College,  Pennsylvania.  He  studied  law  after  his 
matriculation  with  that  eminent  Philadelphia  jurist,  the 
late  JOSIAH  RANDALL,  and  he  began  his  professional  prac- 


JOHN  R.  KENNADAY.  21 7 

tice  in  New  York  with  Mr.  JAMES  R.  JESUP,  now  a  dis- 
tinguished lawyer,  with  whom  he  is  still  associated.  Mr. 
KENNADAY'S  residence  has  ever  since  been  in  Brooklyn. 
His  social  and  professional  position  is  well  known  to  be  of 
the  first  order,  and  his  discharge  of  the  duties  of  a  citizen 
has  been  marked  by  identification  with  the  best  institutions 
of  Brooklyn.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Historical  Society,  a 
patron  and  officer  of  the  Art  Association,  and  the  Art 
Schools,  and  succeeded  FRANKLIN  WOODRUFF  in  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  Mercantile  Library  Association. 

In  politics  Mr.  KENNADAY  has  always  been  a  Democrat  of 
the  most  thoughtful  and  progressive  school,  though  with 
what  is  called  "  practical  politics "  he  has  not  been  identi- 
fied beyond  the  quiet  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  voter.  Two 
years  ago,  Mr.  KENNADAY  was  made  a  member  of  the  Brook- 
lyn Committee  of  One  Hundred.  He  has .  served  in  that 
organization  on  the  Committees  of  Law  and  Nominations. 
In  the  Hundred  Mr.  KENNADAY  was  active  for  good  govern- 
ment and  for  economy  and  purity  in  administration.  He  is 
a  son-in-law  of  Mr.  JOHN  T.  MARTIN,  a  well-known  citizen 
of  Brooklyn,  and  in  every  personal,  intellectual,  social  and 
political  aspect,  he  is  a  man  of  exalted  type. 

Mr.  KENNADAY'S  district  is  strongly  Republican,  gener- 
ally from  600  to  800  majority,  and  the  fact  that  he  received 
441  majority  in  a  total  vote  of  6,000,  is  perhaps  the  best 
proof  of  his  popularity  we  could  cite.  In  his  immediate 
neighborhood,  the  old  Third  ward,  he  received  a  majority  of 
3,  in  a  total  vote  of  1,417,  while  Governor  Dix's  majority 
was  303.  Besides  his  Chairmanship  of  General  Laws,  Mr. 
KENNADAY  holds  the  second  place  on  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee, and  hence  he  wields  a  large  influence  in  shaping  the 
most  important  legislation  of  the  present  session. 

While  not  much  given  to  ambitious  efforts  in  the  way 

of  oratory,  Mr.  KENNADAY  frequently  takes  part  in  the 

debates,  and  expresses  his  views  clearly  and  tersely,  his  legal 

experience  and  varied  information   adding  great  value  to 

28 


218  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

his  suggestions.  In  debate  as  well  as  in  ordinary  intercourse 
he  is  exceedingly  courteous  and  refined  in  manner  and 
speech,  and  his  relations  with  all  his  fellow-members,  with- 
out regard  to  party,  are  of  the  most  pleasant  and  agreeable 
character. 


WILLIAM  P.  KIEK. 


Mr.  KIRK,  the  representative  of  the  Second  New  York 
district,  is  a  man  about  whom  there  is  no  nonsense  in  any 
respect.  He  is  a  plain  matter-of-fact  gentleman,  well-posted 
in  most  matters  demanding  the  attention  of  the  Legislature, 
and  performs  the  duties  which  devolve  upon  him  quietly  and 
unassumingly.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  on 
the  llth  of  August,  1833.  His  father  and  mother  were  both 
born  in  Ireland,  though  they  were  married  in  New  York  city, 
having  emigrated  at  an  early  age.  The  father  is  a  carpenter, 
and  is  still  living  in  New  York  city  at  the  age  of  75 
years.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  New  York  city,  and,  at  the  proper  age, 
was  apprenticed  to  a  sawsmith.  He  followed  this  occupa- 
tion a  number  of  years,  but  he  finally  became  a  wine  mer- 
chant, and  is  successfully  engaged  in  that  business  at 
present.  He  was  married,  about  19  years  ago,  to  Miss 
ANNA  L.  QUINN,  of  New  York  city.  He  has  always  acted 
with  the  Tammany  wing  of  the  Democracy,  and,  being  a 
life-long  resident  of  New  York  city,  he  is  well  known  in 
political  circles.  He  was  a  Member  of  the  Assembly  of 
1864,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  800,  and  also  in 
1874,  his  majority  being  673,  and  his  opponent  being  THOMAS 
WILD,  a  popular  Republican.  Last  fall  he  was  re-elected  by 
a  plurality  of  1,124  over  THOMAS  WILD  and  CHARLES 
ZOLLER.  Aside  from  his  legislative  positions,  he  has  never 


CHARLES  H.  KRACK.  219 

held  any  very  prominent  public  office,  preferring  rather  to  do 
effective  work  in  the  ranks  of  his  party.  He  is  a  Roman 
Catholic,  and,  being  a  man  of  fine  traits  of  character,  he  is 
greatly  esteemed  by  his  associates  of  the  New  York  dele- 
gation. 


CHARLES  H.  KRACK. 


Mr.  KEACK  was  born  in  Hanover,  Prussia,  in  the  year 
1828.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  he  was  sent  to  the  common 
school  of  Hanover,  and  subsequently  graduated  at  a  military 
school.  He  served  in  the  army  three  years,  and  then  came  to 
America,  and  procured  the  position  of  pilot  on  one  of  the 
Hudson  River  steamboats,  serving  in  that  capacity  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
army.  Before  starting  for  Mexico,  he  was  promoted  captain 
of  a  company  of  dragoons.  He  served  with  great  gallantry 
under  General  SCOTT  during  the  entire  war,  participating, 
with  few  exceptions,  in  all  the  important  engagements,  and 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel  as  a  reward  for  bravery. 
He  had  the  honor  of  being  present  at  the  capture  of  the  city 
of  Mexico. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  went  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and 
was  overseer  of  a  cotton  plantation  for  some  time,  but,  on 
the  breaking  out  of  the  yellow  fever,  he  started  for  New  York 
city  by  land,  being  ninety  days  on  the  way.  On  his  arrival  in 
New  York,  he  resumed  his  old  occupation,  this  time  securing 
a  place  on  one  of  the  East  Eiver  boats.  After  three  years,  he 
went  to  Galveston,  Texas,  and  thence  overland  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.  Joining  a  party  of  hunters,  he  traveled  extensively 
through  the  Western  territories,  and  met  with  many  exciting 
adventures  in  the  wilds  of  the  Eocky  mountains.  Finally, 
he  returned  to  New  York  and  engaged  in  the  hotel  business. 


220  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

He  sold  out,  however,  after  a  few  years,  and  bought  a  farm, 
which  he  managed  successfully,  and  finally  he  purchased 
the  salt-water  swimming  baths  in  New  York,  which  he  owns 
and  conducts  at  the  present  time.  As  a  result  of  his  ven- 
tures and  undertakings,  he  has  amassed  a  respectable  fortune, 
most  of  which  is  judiciously  invested  in  farm  property.  He 
owns  a  fine  country  residence  near  Woodstock,  where  he 
spends  much  of  his  time  during  the  summer  months. 

In  politics,  Mr.  KKACK  is  and  always  has  been  an  old 
fashioned  Jeffersonian  Democrat,  and  as  such  he  has 
several  times  received  honors  at  the  hands  of  his  party.  He 
is  representing  the  Third  district  of  Ulster  county  for  the 
third  time  in  the  Assembly.  He  was  chosen  in  the  fall  of 
1869,  by  a  majority  of  381  over  JACOB  C.  DEPUY,  re-elected 
next  year  by  87  majority  over  MARTIN  SCHUTT,  and  again 
elected  last  fall  by  645  plurality  over  EDGAR  KUSSELL,  Ee- 
publican,  and  E.  D.  LOUNSBERY,  Temperance.  He  serves 
this  year  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Grievances,  and 
member  of  Expenditures  of  the  House. 

Mr.  KRACK  was  married  at  Woodstock,  in  1848,  to  Miss 
SARAH  HARDER.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  denomi- 
nation, and  is  a  man  of  strict  personal  integrity,  kindly 
impulses  and  benevolent  disposition. 


'  LEOPOLD  C.  G.  KS-HINKA. 


Mr.  KSHINKA,  now  serving  his  second  term,  is  in  every 
sense  a  self-made  man.  He  occupies  a  high  position  in  the 
bar  of  Albany  county,  solely  as  the  result  of  his  own  exer- 
tions and  persistent,  unwearied  industry.  He  is  still  a  young 
man,  and  has,  perhaps,  the  most  brilliant  portion  of  his 
career  yet  before  him;  but  his  decided  ability  and  fine 
natural  powers  lead  us  to  believe  that  he  will  fully  realize 


LEOPOLD   C.  G.  KSHINKA.  221 

the  anticipations  of  those  who  know  him  best.  He  was  born 
in  Zerkwitz,  province  of  Brandenburg,  Prussia,  June  9, 
1835.  His  parents,  MATHAUS  K.  and  WILHELMI^A 
KSHINKA,  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1850,  and  are  still 
living  on  a  farm  in  Bradford  county,  Pa.  His  father  is 
finely  educated,  and  for  thirty  years  was  an  instructor  in  the 
provincial  schools  of  Prussia,  under  a  system  which,  in  some 
respects,  is  probably  the  best  in  the  world.  He  also  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  Revolution  of  1848,  and  was  chosen  a 
Federal  and  State  elector  by  the  Liberal  party. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  received  his  early  education  in 
the  Prussian  common  schools.  During  the  years  1861  and 
1862,  he  attended  Fort  Edward  Institute,  and  in  1867,  he 
graduated  from  the  Albany  Law  School,  being  soon  after 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Since  then,  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in  the  city  of  Albany,  with 
a  good  and  steadily  increasing  practice. 

Upon  reaching  his  majority,  Mr.  KSHIKKA  identified 
himself  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  since  been  stead- 
fast in  his  allegiance;  but  while  he  maintains  his  party 
fealty,  his  views  in  reference  to  all  public  questions  are 
liberal  and  progressive,  and  he  never  permits  partisan  consid- 
erations to  blind  his  sense  of  right  and  duty.  He  has  had 
what  may  be  deemed  a  preliminary  legislative  experience  in 
the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Albany  county,  having  been  a 
member  of  that  body  since  the  spring  of  1872,  representing  the 
Tenth  ward  of  Albany  city.  Since  he  commenced  his  public 
career,  the  expressions  of  popular  regard  for  him  have  been 
exceedingly  gratifying.  In  1872,  when  he  was  first  chosen 
Supervisor,  he  ran  largely  ahead  of  his  ticket,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1873,  when  he  was  re-elected,  he  carried  his  ward 
by  a  respectable  majority,  though  it  went  Republican  at  the 
previous  fall  election.  In  the  fall  of  1873,  he  was  elected 
member  of  Assembly  from  a  district  (the  Second),  which  had 
elected  Republican  members  for  three  successive  years,  by 
majorities  ranging  from  193  to  464.  His  majority  over 


222  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

RICHARD  B.  ROCK,  Republican,  was  553.  He  was  re-elected 
last  fall  by  a  majority  of  426  over  CHRISTIAN"  SCHURR. 
The  district,  on  a  square  party  vote,  is  Democratic,  and  Mr. 
KSHIKKA  enjoys  the  honor  of  having  reclaimed  it  from  the 
enemy.  He  has  proved  himself  a  very  active  member  of  the 
Legislature,  especially  in  looking  after  the  interests  of  the 
city  of  Albany. 

He  was  married  August  18,  1869,  at  Oorinth,  Saratoga 
county,  to  MAGGIE  N.  EARLY,  daughter  of  ELIJAH  EARLY, 
Esq.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  Evangelical  faith,  and  is  a 
man  of  deep  convictions  and  high  moral  purpose. 


ALEXANDER  B.  LAW. 


The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  article  is  a  plain, 
honest  and  substantial  farmer,  and  ranks,  in  age,  among  the 
oldest  men  of  the  House.  He  was  born  in  Salem,  Washing- 
ton county,  in  October,  1809.  His  grandfather  and  father 
emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ireland  in  the  year  1769,  and 
settled  in  what  was  then  the  town  of  New  Perth,  Albany 
county,  now  Salem,  Washington  county.  They  were  well- 
to-do  farmers,  and  the  son  naturally  grew  up  to  the  same 
occupation.  During  his  younger  days  he  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  and  the  academy  at  Cambridge,  Washington 
county.  He  therefore  received  a  fair  English  education, 
which,  however,  has  been  well  supplemented  by  the  knowl- 
edge derivable  from  observation  and  experience. 

Mr.  LAW  was  formerly  a  Whig,  but  since  the  Republican 
party  was  formed,  he  has  been  an  earnest  and  active  member 
thereof,  and  wields  much  influence  in  the  town  where  he  has 
all  his  life  resided.  Sufficient  evidence  of  this  is,  we  appre- 
hend, to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  has  held  the  office  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace  steadily  for  the  past  thirty  years,  hav- 


HENRY  LAWRENCE.  223 

ing  been  first  elected  in  1845.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
Board  of  Supervisors  from  1861  to  1866,  both  years  inclu- 
sive, and  for  four  years  was  Chairman  of  the  Board.  In  his 
first  Assembly  canvass  in  1873,  he  received  all  the  votes  cast 
in  the  First  District  of  Washington  county,  no  opp6nent  be- 
ing in  the  field.  Last  fall  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
693  over  G-EO.  SHANNON,  Democrat. 

A  Protestant  in  religious  belief,  Mr.  LAW  is  a  man  of 
large  and  liberal  views  upon  all  subjects.  He  is  also  gifted 
with  common  sense  and  sound  judgment,  and,  being  a  man 
of  unimpeachable  private  character  and  immovable  princi- 
ples, he  is  in  every  respect  a  fit  representative  of  such  a  con- 
stituency as  that  in  the  First  District  of  Washington 
county. 

He  served  last  year  on  the  Committees  on  Eoads  and 
Bridges,  Civil  Divisions  and  Expenditures  of  the  House,  and 
is  this  year  on  Roads  and  Bridges  and  Expenditures  of  the 
House. 


HENRY  LAWRENCE. 


The  first  district  of  Columbia  county  is  represented  by  a 
man  of  very  decided  ability  and  experience,  in  the  person  of 
Hon.  HENRY  LAWRENCE,  of  Claverack,  who  is  serving  his 
second  term.  He  was  born  in  New  York  city,  October  15, 
1825.  His  father,  PHILIP  LAWRENCE,  who  resided  in  Col- 
umbia county  many  years,  is  now  dead,  but  his  mother  is  still 
living.  Young  LAWRENCE  obtained  a  fair  education  at  the 
common  schools,  and  became  a  marine  engineer,  in  which 
occupation  he  has  visited  nearly  every  country  on  the  globe. 
He  has,  therefore,  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  world,  inasmuch 
as  he  has  followed  that  pursuit  about  30  years.  During  the 
last  several  years  he  has  been  a  hotel  proprietor  at  Claverack, 


224  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

and  may  be  regarded  as  quite  comfortably  off.  Since  he 
closed  his  roving  life,  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  poli- 
tics, being  a  Democrat.  He  has  never  before  held  office, 
however.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly,  in  1873,  by  334 
majority  over  JOHN  D.  LANGDON,  Ms  Republican  opponent, 
and  served  on  the  Committees  on  Expenditures  of  the  Execu- 
tive Department  and  Public  Lands.  He  was  re-elected  last 
fall  by  a  majority  of  764  over  the  same  opponent,  and  now 
serves  as  Chairman  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  member  of  State 
Prisons  and  Manufacture  of  Salt.  He  is  not  himself  a  mem- 
ber of  any  religious  denomination,  but  his  family  are  Dutch 
Eeformed.  He  is  quiet  and  unassuming  in  the  House,  but 
his  physiognomy  indicates  a  good  deal  of  force  of  character, 
and  he  is  unquestionably  a  man  of  ability. 


WILLIAM  W.  LAWSON. 


Mr.  LAWSON,  of  the  Second  Erie  district,  has,  by  his 
own  unaided  exertions,  risen  to  a  prominent  position,  both 
in  the  business  community  and  in  political  circles.  He  is 
self-made,  and  possesses  those  sterling  traits  of  character 
that  win  respect  and  admiration.  Always  conservative  in 
his  views,  he  is  a  strong  advocate  of  the  right.  He  possesses 
qualities  which  eminently  fit  him  to  occupy  a  place  in  the 
legislative  halls  of  the  State,  and  his  record  thus  far  in  the 
Assembly  is  such  as  to  reflect  credit  upon  the  city  and  county 
of  Erie.  He  has  twice  served  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of 
that  county,  his  straightforward  course  of  conduct  and  his 
excellent  business  talents  rendering  him  one  of  the  most 
useful  members  of  the  board.  The  same  talents  and  quali- 
fications he  now  employs  with  advantage  in  a  wider  field. 

He  was  born  in  Buffalo,  June  16, 1845,  of  English  parents, 
his  father,  RICHARD  LAWSON,  emigrating  from  Liverpool. 


WILLIAM.  W.  LAWSON.  225 

Both  his  parents  are  now  deceased.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  at  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Commercial  Col- 
lege at  Buffalo,  thus  securing  a  good  preparation  for  business 
life.  After  completing  his  studies  he  served  as  an  apprentice 
with  DAVID  BELL,  one  of  the  largest  manufacturers  of  steam 
engines  in  western  New  York.  For  some  reason,  however, 
he  did  not  follow  that  occupation,  as  he  subsequently  entered 
into  a  business  partnership  with  JAMES  FABTHING,  his 
father-in-law,  one  of  the  heaviest  stock  dealers  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  State.  This  connection,  which  has  been  exceed- 
ingly advantageous  and  successful,  is  still  maintained,  the 
firm  also  running  a  meat  market,  and  being  engaged  in  feed- 
ing cattle  awaiting  shipment. 

He  served  seven  years  in  the  Buffalo  Volunteer  Fire  De- 
partment, being  a  member  of  Eagle  Hose,  an  old  and  crack 
organization.  For  some  time  he  was  treasurer  of  the  com- 
pany, and  has  always  been  extremely  popular  among  the 
"  boys,"  to  whose  influence,  in  great  measure,  he  attributes 
his  political  success.  He  accompanied  the  organization  on 
its  famous  excursion  to  Philadelphia  in  1867. 

Mr.  LAWSON'S  political  status  is  very  easily  defined.  He 
cast  his  first  vote  for  ABKAHAM  LINCOLN  for  President,  and 
ever  since  has  been  an  ardent  and  active  Kepublican,  doing 
effective  work  for  the  party  at  every  election.  He  is  well 
known  throughout  his  district  as  a  man  of  ability  and  strong 
common  sense,  and  enjoys  wide  popularity.  Sufficient  evi- 
dence of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  Super- 
visor in  1871,  in  a  Democratic  ward,  and  re-elected  in  1872 
by  an  increased  majority,  while,  last  fall,  in  spite  of  the 
"  tidal  wave,"  as  it  is  termed,  he  succeeded  in  defeating,  by 
a  decided  majority,  a  popular  Democrat,  who  represented 
the  same  district  in  the  last  House.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Privileges  and  Elections  and  Public  Printing, 
and  in  the  performance  of  his  legislative  duties,  whether  in 
the  committee  room  or  on  the  floor,  he  is  able  and  efficient. 

Mr.  LAWSON  was  married,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1864,  to 
29 


226  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Miss  ADELIA  J.  FARTHIHG,  of  Buffalo.  He  is  a  man 
against  whose  character  no  word  of  reproach  can  be  cast, 
and  in  every  relation  of  life  he  strives  to  retain  the  esteem 
and  good  will  of  his  fellows. 


EDWARD  LEWIS. 


Mr.  LEWIS,  who  represents  the  third  district  of  Oneida 
county,  was  born  in  Newport,  Herkimer  county,  on  the  17th 
of  December,  1846.  His  education  was  obtained  at  La  Salle 
Academy,  New  York  city,  and  at  the  Christian  Brothers'  Col- 
lege at  St.  Louis.  He  spent  several  years  in  the  western  States, 
and  finally  settled  down  to  agriculture,  being  now  engaged  in 
the  management  of  a  fine  farm  at  East  Florence,  Oneida 
county.  In  1870  he  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
He  also  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  Sessions,  for  two  years,  in 
the  county  of  Oneida.  In  the  recent  Assembly  canvass  he 
had  two  opponents,  STEPHEN  CROMWELL,  Republican,  and 
JAMES  LONGLAJTD,  Prohibition,  but  he  succeeded  in  wiping 
out  an  adverse  majority  of  nearly  three  hundred  the  previous 
year,  and  securing  his  election  by  a  plurality  of  446. 

Mr.  LEWIS  has  always  been  a  Democrat  and  is  very  popular 
in  Oneida  county.  He  is  a  man  of  high  standing  and  large 
influence,  and  is  making  an  excellent  record  as  a  legislator. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Affairs  of  Villages, 
Grievances  and  Civil  Divisions. 


HARRISON  LILLYBRIDGE.  227 


HARRISON  LILLYBRIDGE. 


Mr.  LILLYBRIDGE  is  the  son  of  IRA  and  LAURA  LILLT- 
BDIDGE,  who  removed  from  Stafford  Springs,  Conn.,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1824,  settling  upon  the  farm  in  the  town  of  Annsville, 
Oneida  county,  on  which  the  son  still  resides.  Mr.  LILLY- 
BKIDGE,  Sr.,  died  in  April,  1848.  HARRISON  was  born  at 
Stafford  Springs,  on  the  25th  of  December,  1821.  He  was 
brought  up  mainly  upon  the  farm,  obtaining,  meanwhile,  a 
good  common-school  education.  He  has  always  followed 
farming,  his  place  at  Saberg  station  being  one  of  the  finest 
farms  in  central  New  York.  He  has  been  very  successful  as 
an  agriculturalist,  mainly  because  of  the  fact  that  his  farm- 
ing operations  are  conducted  according  to  scientific  as  well 
as  common-sense  principles. 

Previous  to  1856,  Mr.  LILLYBRIDGE  was  a  Democrat,  but 
in  the  Fremont  campaign  he  identified  himself  with  the 
newly  organized  Eepublican  party,  and  has  acted  with  it  ever 
since.  He  is  a  strong  temperance  man,  however,  taking  an 
active  interest  in  all  practical  measures  for  the  advancement 
of  the  cause.  He  has  also  been  active  and  influential  in  the 
Republican  party  for  many  years,  occupying  a  leading  posi- 
tion in  the  local  organizations  and  conventions  in  Oneida 
county.  He  has  never  been  anxious  for  office,  however,  his 
present  service  in  the  Assembly  being,  we  believe,  the  first 
public  position  of  importance  he  has  held. 

Mr.  LILLYBRIDGE  was  married  September  30,  1850,  to 
MATILDA  SWARTWOUT.  His  religious  sentiments  are  Baptist. 
He  may  be  regarded  as  in  every  respect  a  first  class  man,  and 
is  a  gentleman  of  high  character,  large  influence  and  great 
usefulness.  He  is  always  to  be  found  on  the  side  of  reform 
and  progress  in  public  affairs,  and,  personally  is  genial,  com- 
panionable, courteous  and  a  typical  country  gentleman. 


228  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


CYRILLO  S.  LINCOLN. 


Being  a  man  of  acknowledged  ability,  sound  principles 
and  inflexible  integrity,  and  possessing  a  large  share  of  per- 
sonal magnetism,  Mr.  LINCOLN  wields  an  influence  not 
inferior  to  that  of  any  other  member  of  the  present  Assembly. 
His  habit  of  thinking  and  acting  for  himself  on  all  important 
questions,  at  the  same  time  maintaining  an  attitude  of  entire 
party  fealty,  and  doing  so  with  such  tact  and  judgment  as  to 
commit  no  mistakes,  has  secured  him  the  respect  as  well  as 
the  hearty  esteem  of  friends  and  opponents. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  was  born  in  South  Bristol,  Ontario  county, 
on  the  18th  of  July,  1833.  His  father  Lucius  LINCOLN, 
was  born  in  Otsego  county,  and  is  still  living  and  engaged  in 
farming.  Young  LINCOLN  enjoyed  ample  educational  advan- 
tages. At  the  age  of  twelve  he  entered  the  Genesee  Wesley  an 
Seminary,  subsequently  spent  some  time  in  the  New  York 
Conference  Seminary,  and,  in  1855,  entered  Union  College, 
graduating  from  that  institution  with  honor  in  1858.  He  then 
read  law  for  a  year  or  more  at  the  office  of  F.  L.  DUE  AND,  in 
Rochester,  and  was  very  soon  thereafter  admitted  to  the  bar. 
Since  then  he  has  practiced  successfully,  devoting  much  of 
his  time,  however,  to  grape-growing,  owning  one  of  the  finest 
vineyards  in  that  section  of  the  State.  In  1864,  he  was 
elected  Justice  of  the  peace,  and  held  the  office  until  1871, 
when  he  was  first  elected  to  the  Assembly. 

His  career  in  the  Assembly  has  been  most  creditable  to  his 
constituents  and  to  himself.  He  was  elected  in  1871  by  a 
majority  of  510,  but  in  1872,  his  majority  reached  810,  and, 
in  1873,  in  a  very  light  vote,  it  was  355.  Last  fall,  owing  to 
local  influences,  and  the  extraordinary  efforts  made  to  defeat 
him,  his  majority  was  reduced  to  10.  His  recognition  in  Albany 
has  also  been  marked.  Though  he  had  been  placed  on  no 


C TRILL  o  8.  LINCOLN.  229 

very  important  committees  the  first  year,  a  deserved  tribute 
was  paid  him  by  the  House  later  in  the  session  in  choos- 
ing him  as  one  of  the  managers  in  the  BARNARD  impeach- 
ment trial.  The  result  of  that  trial  is  well  known,  and  no 
one,  with  perhaps  one  or  two  exceptions,  labored  harder  to 
bring  it  about  than  Mr.  LINCOLN.  In  1873  he  was  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Claims,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Petitions  of  Aliens,  of  the  Sub-Committee  of 
the  Whole,  and  of  the  special  committee  to  investigate  the 
affairs  of  the  Erie  Eailway  Company.  In  1874  he  was  Chair- 
man of  Railroads  and  Eules,  and  Member  of  Ways  and 
Means.  In  the  present  House  he  suffers  the  fate  of  a  min- 
ority number,  and  is  only  on  Claims  and  Sub-Committee  of 
the  Whole. 

Mr.  LINCOLN'S  Republicanism  is  a  part  of  his  personality. 
It  is  "  dyed  in  the  wool."  Since  the  party  was  organized  he 
has  steadily  acted  with  it,  voting  for  FREMONT  in  1856,  for 
LINCOLN  twice  and  for  GRANT  twice.  He  is,  in  fact,  one  of 
the  most  active  and  influential  Republicans  of  Ontario 
county.  As  a  public  speaker  he  has  few  superiors.  With  a 
voice  full  and  sonorous,  an  easy  and  natural  manner  of  de- 
livery and  clear  enunciation,  he  has  no  difficulty  in  securing 
the  attention  of  the  House,  whatever  the  topic  of  discussion. 
He  talks  well  on  all  subjects,  and  is  also  a  clear  and  acute 
reasoner,  holding,  in  the  main,  sound  views  on  all  the  politi- 
cal, social  and  financial  questions  of  the  day. 

Physically,  Mr.  LINCOLN  is  well  built,  and  the  embodi- 
ment of  perfect  health.  His  prepossessing  countenance  is  a 
true  index  to  the  man,  and  harmonizes  well  with  the  broad 
intellectual  forehead,  luxuriant  brown  hair  and  clear  blue 
eyes.  The  people  of  the  Second  district  of  Ontario  are  for- 
tunate in  being  so  well  represented  in  the  Assembly. 


230  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JAMES  MACKIN. 


Mr.  MACKIN,  a  man  of  prepossessing  appearance  and 
pleasant  address,  represents  the  First  district  of  Dutchess 
county  for  the  fourth  term.  He  is  a  lineal  descendant  of 
genuine  Irish  stock,  though  his  parents  were  natives  of  this 
country,  his  father  having  been  born  in  New  York,  and  his 
mother  in  Newburgh.  They  both  died,  however,  within 
three  years  of  each  'other,  before  young  MACKIN"  had  reached 
his  eighth  year,  and  he  was  left  entirely  without  means. 
Compelled  thus  to  struggle  for  his  own  support,  from  early 
youth,  Mr.  MACKIN  is  necessarily  one  of  those  practical  self- 
made  men,  who  contribute  so  largely  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
country. 

Born  in  Newburgh,  Orange  county,  on  the  25th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1823,  he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  New 
burgh  and  Fishkill,  and  has  spent  the  greater  portion  of  his 
life  in  the  latter  town,  where  he  has  had  the  care  of  a  large 
estate.  During  the  years  1860, 1861  and  1862,  he  conducted 
a  mercantile  establishment  at  Fishkill  quite  successfully. 
The  responsibilities  of  the  estate  mentioned  were,  however, 
sufficient  to  give  him  ample  occupation,  and  he  retired  from 
business.  Subsequently,  he  became  President  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Fishkill  Landing,  and  still  holds  that 
position. 

Mr.  MACKIN  has  mingled  largely  in  public  and  political 
life.  He  was  an  active  and  influential  Whig  of  the  Free  Soil 
stamp,  until  the  party  was  dissolved.  He  was  not  only  a 
delegate  to  the  convention  which  gave  form  and  cohesion  to 
the  Eepublican  organization,  but,  previous  to  1866,  he  was 
several  times  a  delegate  to  the  conventions  of  that  party,  and 
has  held  a  number  of  public  positions.  For  four  years  he 
was  postmaster  at  Fishkill,  holding  the  position  under  the 


JAMES  MACKIN.  231 

appointment  of  President  FILLMOEE.  In  1862  President 
LINCOLN"  appointed  him  United  States  Assessor  for  the  llth 
(now  the  13th)  district,  and  he  held  the  office  two  years  and 
a  half.  Four  times  he  was  elected  Supervisor  of  his  town, 
and  once  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  Board.  In  1859 
he  represented  his  Assembly  district  in  the  Legislature,  serv- 
ing on  the  Committee  on  Claims,  and  Internal  Affairs  of 
Towns  and  Counties. 

During  the  past  six  or  seven  years,  Mr.  MACKIN  has  acted 
with  the  Democratic  party,  and  was  elected  to  the  Assembly 
in  1872  as  a  member  of  that  political  organization,  receiving 
a  majority  of  828  over  EDWAKD  M.  GORING.  In  1873  he 
was  re-elected  by  a  majority  of  830  over  SIDNEY  E.  BAR- 
TEAM,  and  he  was  re-elected  last  fall  by  a  plurality  of  1,993 
over  HENRY  H.  HUSTIS,  Kepublican,  and  G-EOBGE  POTTEE, 
Prohibition.  He  served  in  1873  on  the  Committee  on  Kail- 
roads  and  Public  Printing;  in  1874  on  Eailroads,  Villages  and 
Militia,  and  is  now  Chairman  of  Eailroads  and  member  of 
Villages  and  State  Charitable  Institutions. 

Though  not  greatly  given  to  debate,  Mr.  MACKIN  possesses 
excellent  qualifications  for  legislative  position.  He  enjoys  a 
large  degree  of  popularity,  both  in  private  and  public  life, 
and  there  are  few  men  in  his  section  of  the  State  more 
deserving  of  public  confidence.  He  was  married  in  July, 
1858,  to  Miss  SAEAH  E.  WILTSIE,  a  very  intelligent  and 
accomplished  lady,  and  a  daughter  of  JAMES  WILTSIE,  an  old 
and  respected  citizen  of  Fishkill.  She  was  a  devout  member 
of  the  Reformed  church,  where  Mr.  MACKIN  also  worshiped. 
Her  death  took  place  in  1862,  and  her  place  in  the  family 
circle  has  never  been  filled.  Mr.  M.  has  been  reasonably 
successful  in  all  his  business  undertakings,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  in  quite  comfortable  circumstances. 


232 


KNOX  MCAFEE. 


Mr.  McAFEE  represents  the  Eleventh  New  York  district, 
and  is  a  young  New  Yorker  of  unblemished  character.  He 
is  of  Scotch  descent,  both  his  parents,  WILLIAM  and  ELIZA- 
BETH McAFEE,  being  also  residents  of  the  metropolis.  Mr. 
McAFEE  was  born  in  New  York  city,  January  3,  1843,  and 
has  resided  there  all  his  life.  Aside,  therefore,  from  his 
unquestioned  ability  and  his  qualifications  in  other  respects, 
he  is  peculiarly  well-fitted  to  represent  the  great  city  in  the 
Legislature.  Mr.  McAFEE  is  finely  educated,  having  gradu- 
ated from  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York  in  the  class 
of  1862,  receiving  the  degree  of  A.  B.  Though  a  man  of 
much  literary  culture  and  fine  taste,  his  inclination  has  not 
led  him  to  adopt  either  of  the  professions.  During  the  past 
few  years  he  has  been  in  the  real  estate  business,  in  which  he 
has  been  reasonably  successful. 

During  the  war,  Mr.  McAFEE  organized  a  company  for  the 
12th  New  York  Infantry,  and  was  commissioned  as  Captain, 
April  29,  1862,  being  at  the  time  but  nineteen  years  of  age. 
He  proceeded  to  the  front  with  the  regiment.  He  was,  how- 
ever, taken  prisoner  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  paroled.  On  being 
exchanged  early  in  1863,  he  immediately  returned  to  service 
with  his  regiment,  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major 
and  afterward  to  that  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  remaining  with 
the  Twelfth  regiment  during  its  term  of  service.  His  war 
record  is,  therefore,  in  the  highest  degree  honorable.  When 
he  returned  home  he  brought  with  him  a  youthful  "  contra- 
band," a  bright,  young  fellow,  who  became  devotedly  attached 
to  him.  Col.  McAFEE  reciprocated  the  attachment  by  giving 
him  a  thorough  education  in  New  York  city,  and  he  is  now 
filling  a  position  of  responsibility,  being  respected  and  trusted 
by  all  who  know  him. 


KNOX  MCAFEE.  233 

In  politics,  Mr.  McAFEE  has  always  been  a  Eepublican. 
He  was  never  before  a  candidate  for  any  elective  office,  but 
during  four  years  he  held  the  position  of  Deputy  Collector 
of  Internal  Eevenue  of  the  eighth  district  of  New  York, 
and  for  three  years  he  was  a  United  States  Gauger  in  the 
Custom  House.  He  resigned  both  positions,  however,  pre- 
ferring the  emoluments  of  a  business  rather  than  an  official 
career.  He  was  greatly  disinclined  to  accept  the  Assembly 
nomination,  which  had  been  repeatedly  tendered  by  his 
friends,  but,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  those  friends,  he 
finally  consented  to  accept  what  was  to  him  a  personal  sacri- 
fice. His  majority  in  1873  over  the  combined  Tammany  and 
Apollo  Hall  vote  was  896,  his  opponent  being  OLIVER  P. 
BUEL,  and  his  plurality  last  fall  over  Mr.  BUEL  and  C.  H. 
COURTNEY,  an  independent  Democrat,  was  1,561.  Such 
majorities  are  not  frequently  vouchsafed  to  Eepublican  Assem- 
bly candidates  in  the  metropolis,  and  it  indicates  the  regard  in 
which  he  is  held  by  the  voters  of  the  eleventh  district.  Mr. 
M.  served  last  year  on  the  Committees  on  Cities  and  Militia, 
and  is  this  year  a  member  of  Banking  and  Militia. 

Adhering  to  the  Presbyterian  faith  —  the  faith  of  his 
fathers  —  Mr.  McAFEE  is,  in  all  respects,  -a  man  of  integrity 
and  rectitude.  His  legislative  action  is,  therefore,  governed 
by  principle,  and  his  vote  on  every  question  may  be  regarded 
as  the  expression  of  what  he  conscientiously  believes  to  be 
right.  His  course  in  the  House  is  marked  by  a  quiet  and 
reserved  demeanor,  in  strong  contrast  with  the  volubility  of 
some  other  members  of  that  body,  but  his  keen  black  eye 
intently  watches  the  progress  of  legislation,  and  he  is  able  to 
vote  understandingly  when  his  name  is  called. 

Mr.  McAFEE  was  married  on  the  8th  of  June,  1870,  to 
Miss  OLLIE  V.  KIRBY,  of  New  York. 


30 


234  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JOHN  T.  McGOWAlST. 


Mr.  McGowAN  represents  the  sixteenth  New  York  district, 
in  which  Governor  TILDEN"  resides,  and  is  a  wide  awake  and 
active  member  of  the  majority.  He  achieved  some  promi- 
nence early  in  the  session  because  of  his  determined  opposition 
to  a  couple  of  bills  relating  to  the  disposition  of  children. 

He  was  born  in  Ireland,  December  21,  1838,  but  came  to 
this  country  with  his  parents  at  a  rery  early  age.  He  was 
then  bereft  of  both  father  and  mother  when  but  seven  years 
old.  Consequently  he  was  obliged  to  depend  upon  his  own 
resources  at  a  very  tender  age,  and  it  is  greatly  to  his  credit 
that  he  succeeded  in  acquiring  an  excellent  education.  This 
he  obtained  in  the  day  and  evening  schools  of  the  metropolis, 
improving  to  the  utmost  such  advantages  as  were  within  his 
reach.  On  January  6,  1851,  at  the  age  of  12,  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  BEEBE,  BETTS  &  DONOHUE.  Five  years  later 
the  firm  was  changed  to  BEEBE,  DEAN  &  DOXOHUE,  but  he 
remained  in  the  office  until  November,  1868,  becoming  at  an 
early  period  general  manager  and  having  an  interest  in  the 
firm,  which  had  the  largest  clientage  of  any  law  firm  in 
the  country.  He  was  duly  admitted  to  the  bar  while  con- 
nected with  the  firm1  mentioned,  and  is  now  practicing  the 
profession  on  his  own  account  with  success.  ' 

Mr.  McGowAN  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  but  he  never 
before  held  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  party.  In  the  recent 
canvass  he  became  a  candidate  for  the  Assembly  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Governor  TILDES,  and  was  elected  by  a  plurality 
of  1,030,  after  a  very  exciting  contest,  his  opponents  being 
PETER  WOODS,  who  has  twice  represented  the  district,  and 
CHAS.  E.  L.  HOLMES,  a  popular  Eepublican. 

Mr.  McGowAN  is  a  member  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church, 
and  is  yet  in  a  condition  of  single  blessedness. 


JOHN  MCGROARTY. 


JOHN  McGEOARTY. 


Mr.  McGrKOARTY  represents,  for  the  second  time,  the  dis- 
trict which,  for  several  years,  sent  us  the  veteran  JACOBS, 
who  is  promoted  to  the  Senate.  He  is  a  well-known  poli- 
tician of  the  Ninth  "Ward,  Brooklyn  ;  and  though  he  is  com- 
paratively a  young  man,  he  has  mingled  considerably  in  the 
local  politics  of  the  City  of  Churches,  where  he  has  resided 
all  his  life.  He  was  born  in  Brooklyn  on  the  14th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1838,  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  city. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  a  hatter,  and  followed  that  occupa- 
tion some  years,  but  of  late  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  business,  and,  pecuniarily,  is  quite  well  off.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  has  been  an  Alderman  for  the  Ninth  Ward  of 
Brooklyn. 

He  does  not  take  a  very  active  part  in  the  Assembly,  so 
far,  at  least,  as  the  debates  are  concerned,  but  his  name  is 
attached  to  a  good  many  measures  designed  to  advance  the 
inrerests  of  his  constituents,  and  he  makes  a  creditable 
record.  His  majority  over  JOHN"  OAKET,  the  Republican 
candidate  in  1873,  was  714,  a  gain  of  nearly  150  over  Mr. 
JACOBS'  last  majority,  and,  last  fall,  he  was  re-elected  by  the 
largely  increased  majority  of  1,079  over  JOHIS"  STINSON, 
Republican.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Cities  two  years,  and  serves,  also,  this  year,  as  chairman  of 
the  Sub-committee  of  the  Whole  and  member  of  Federal 
Relations. 


236  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JAMES  A.  MERWIN. 


Mr.  MERWIN,  who  serves  in  the  Assembly  for  the  first 
time,  was  born  at  Leyden,  Lewis  county,  January  8,  1827, 
and  still  resides  at  Port  Leyden,  where  he  is  a  prominent  and 
valued  citizen.  He  was  educated  partly  in  the  common 
schools,  but  mainly  at  Wileston  Seminary,  Massachusetts. 
Soon  after  reaching  his  majority  he  entered  business  life,  and 
for  many  years  he  has  been  an  extensive  lumber  dealer,  and 
has  been  quite  successful.  He  has  served  three  years  in  the 
Lewis  county  Board  of  Supervisors.  Though  chosen  from  a 
district  usually  Kepublican,  Mr.  MERWIN  is  a  life-long  Demo- 
crat, and  wields  much  influence  in  the  councils  of  his  party. 
He  defeated  SIDNEY  SYLVESTER,  a  former  member  of  the 
House,  in  the  late  canvass,  by  a  majority  of  302. 

Mr.  MERWIN  possesses  a  fine  physique,  his  physiognomy 
indicating  strength  of  character,  and  a  clear  and  well  bal- 
anced judgment.  He  is  a  very  capable  member,  and  enjoys 
the  esteem  of  his  associates.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittees on  Roads  and  Bridges  and  Agriculture. 


JAMES  W.  MILLER. 


Mr.  MILLER  is  one  of  those  nervous  and  energetic  indi- 
viduals who  conquer  success  by  sheer  impetuosity.  He  is 
not  brilliant,  as  the  phrase  goes,  but  he  is  able,  courageous, 
and  undaunted,  and  gifted  with  a  large  stock  of  common 
sense  and  discriminating  judgment.  These  are  prime  quali- 
ties in  mercantile  life,  and  they  are  undoubtedly  the  secret 
of  his  success.  Those  who  have  marked  his  career  in  the 


JAMES  W.  MILLER.  237 

Assembly  thus  far  predict  for  him  a  pronounced  success  in 
the  field  of  politics.  He  came  to  Albany  with  no  legislative 
experience  whatever.  He  never  had  made  a  speech  before  a 
public  assembly  in  his  life  ;  nevertheless  he  has  taken  fair 
rank  as  a  debater,  and  has  shown  himself  to  be  a  good  off- 
hand speaker.  Inasmuch  as  he  is  a  man  of  sterling  honesty 
and  high  purpose,  there  is  every  prospect  that  he  has  a  dis- 
tinguished career  before  him. 

Mr.  MILLER  is  the  son  of  JAMES  W.  and  ELZA  MILLER, 
who  resided  in  Newburgh  all  their  lives,  and  lived  and  died 
much  like  the  patriarchs  of  old,  being  simple  and  unosten- 
tatious in  their  habits,  and  greatly  honored  and  respected  by 
a  wide  circle  of  friends.  He  was  born  in  Newburgh  in  the 
year  1830,  and  after  receiving  a  fair  education  at  home  and 
in  the  common  schools,  followed  the  footsteps  of  his  father 
and  entered  mercantile  life.  He  still  conducts  the  business 
established  by  his  grandfather,  and  is  able  to  boast  a  reason- 
able success. 

In  politics  Mr.  MILLER  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and 
is  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  principles  of  free  trade  and  home 
rule.  He  has  always  lived  and  voted  in  the  first  assembly 
district  of  Orange  county,  which,  though  usually  Republican 
by  from  400  to  1,200  majority,  elected  him  to  the  Assembly 
by  a  plurality  of  371  over  the  Eepublican  and  Temperance 
candidates.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  denomina- 
tion, is  still  unmarried,  and  is  well  known  in  Newburgh  as 
an  upright  and  public-spirited  citizen. 


238  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


WARNER  MILLER. 


Though  Mr.  MILLER  made  his  first  appearance  in  public 
official  life  as  a  member  of  the  last  Legislature,  he  leaped 
at  once  into  a  prominent  position  in  that  body,  and  wields  a 
large  influence.  He  possesses  marked  ability,  and  is  ex- 
tremely clear-headed  and  practical  in  his  ideas.  Accustomed 
to  think  and  act  for  himself  upon  every  question,  his  views  are 
characterized  by  originality  and  boldness,  and  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  back  up  his  opinions  by  arguments  which  are 
couched  in  the  plainest  and  most  effective  language.  Being 
an  extensive  manufacturer,  whatever  tends  to  advance  the 
industrial  interests  of  the  State  naturally  enlists  his  warm 
sympathy,  but  at  the  same  time  his  efforts  in  that  direction 
are  inspired  by  no  selfish  considerations.  The  welfare  of  the 
community  at  large  is  uppermost  in  his  mind.  He  is  also  a 
warm  friend  of  the  common  schools  of  the  State,  and  is  a 
steadfast  opponent  of  any  efforts  to  encourage  other  educa- 
tional systems  at  the  expense  of  that  which,  in  its  scope  and 
mission,  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  whole  people.  In  the 
last  session  Mr.  MILLER  attracted  attention  because  of  the 
proposition,  initiated  by  himself,  to  strike  from  the  general 
appropriation  bill  the  clause  giving  $125,000  to  the  academies 
of  the  State.  He  made  a  powerful  speech  in  advocacy  of  his 
motion  to  strike  out,  and  carried  the  House  with  him  by  a 
decided  majority,  but  when  the  bill  reached  the  Senate,  the 
clause  was  re-inserted  after  protracted  discussion.  He  gives 
to  the  consideration  of  every  question  great  earnestness  and 
deep  thought,  and  his  speeches  are  always  direct  and  to  the 
point. 

Mr.  MILLER  was  born  in  Oswego  county,  August  12, 1838. 
He  is  of  German  descent,  his  ancestors  having  emigrated  to 
this  country  previous  to  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  great 


WARNER  MILLER.  239 

grandfather  was  a  colonel  in  that  memorable  conflict,  and  his 
dwelling,  which  is  still  standing  at  White  Plains,  was  occupied 
by  Gen.  WASHINGTON  as-  his  head-quarters.  ABRAHAM  MIL- 
LER, an  uncle  of  the  present  Assemblyman,  represented 
Westchester  county  for  fourteen  successive  years  in  the  As- 
sembly. 

Young  MILLER  was  fortunate  in  the  educational  oppor- 
tunities he  enjoyed.  He  passed  through  the  usual  common- 
school  experience  in  early  youth,  and  when  he  reached  a 
proper  age,  entered  Union  College  at  Schenectady.  From 
that  institution  he  graduated  in  1860,  standing  well  with  his 
class.  After  graduating,  he  taught  for  a  short  period  at  Fort 
Edward  Institute.  After  the  war  broke  out  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  Third  New  York  Cavalry,  and  was  afterward 
promoted  to  the  grade  of  Sergeant- Major.  "He  saw  much 
arduous  service  in  Virginia  under  SHERIDAN  and  others,  and 
at  the  battle  of  Winchester  he  was  taken  prisoner  by 
"  STONEWALL"  JACKSON'S  brigade,  and  was  paroled  on  the 
field.  At  this  time  he  was  acting  Lieutenant.  After  receiv- 
ing an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army,  Mr.  MILLER 
spent  some  time  in  Europe,  gaining  important  knowledge 
concerning  the  manufacture  of  paper.  On  his  return  he  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  paper  business  at  Herkimer,  and  is 
still  carrying  on  that  branch  of  manufacture  successfully, 
employing  a  large  number  of  hands.  In  July,  1864,  he  was 
married  at  Gloversville,  N.  Y.,  to  CAROLINE  CHURCHILL. 

Mr.  MILLER  is  known  throughout  Herkimer  county  as  an 
active  Republican,  but  he  has  never  before  accepted  office. 
Of  refined  tastes,  rare  culture,  and  possessing  excellent  social 
qualities,  he  is  deservedly  popular.  He  is  also  widely  re- 
spected and  honored  for  his  high  character  and  strict  prin- 
ciples. No  man  in  the  present  Assembly  is  more  entirely 
unsuspected,  or  free  from  contaminating  influences  than  the 
member  from  Herkimer.  He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Methodist  church,  and  in  his  private  life  is  entirely  without 
reproach.  Last  year  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 


240  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Insurance,  Engrossed  Bills,  and  Sub-Committee  of  the 
Whole,  and  took  rank  among  the  most  effective  of  the 
working  members.  This  year  he  is  a  member  of  Ways  and 
Means  and  Canals. 


NICHOLAS  MULLER. 


The  gentleman  who  represents  the  First  district  of  New 
York  merits  a  more  extended  notice  than  our  space  affords, 
as  he  is  a  man  of  marked  characteristics  in  whatever  light 
we  regard  him.  Commencing  his  manhood  amid  penury 
and  hardship,  and  beset  by  discouragements  that  would  appal 
a  less  determined  spirit,  he  fought  his  way  step  by  step  until 
he  occupied  a  position  of  influence  in  the  community,  where 
he  was  able  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  others  not  so  for- 
tunate. Very  few  residents  of  the  lower  wards  of  New  York 
need  to  be  told  who  NICHOLAS  MULLER  is.  His  public 
spirit,  kindness  of  heart  and  fine  social  qualities  are  widely 
known,  and  hundreds  have  had  occasion  to  know  and  appre- 
ciate the  generosity  and  benevolence  which  are  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  his  nature.  He  is  best  known  in  the  First 
ward,  where  he  has  spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  rendering 
practical  aid  to  his  friends  in  misfortune.  As  a  result,  he 
possesses  unbounded  popularity,  without  much  regard  to 
party  lines.  He  has  resided  in  the  ward  about  twenty- 
three  years,  and  so  thoroughly  is  he  identified  with  its 
interests  that  he  is  undoubtedly  the  fittest  representative  that 
could  be  selected  from  its  precincts. 

NICHOLAS  MULLER  was  born  in  the  village  of  Differyange, 
near  Metz,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxembourg,  on  the  15th 
of  November,  1836.  He  is,  therefore,  now  about  thirty- 
eight  years  of  age. 


NICHOLAS  MULLER.  241 

His  father,  JOHN"  MULLEE,  was  a  man  of  considerable 
importance  in  the  place,  being  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Councilmen,  a  position  analogous  to  our  municipal 
aldermen.  He  was  a  wholesale  wine  merchant,  and  pecu- 
niarily interested  in  a  large  iron  foundry.  In  1852  he 
emigrated  to  this  country,  and  is  now  a  wholesale  grocer 
and  liquor  merchant  at  Savannah,  Ga.  Young  MULLER 
obtained  the  rudiments  of  an  education  in  the  Luxem- 
bourg Athenaeum  and  in  a  private  institution  at  Metz, 
and  determining,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  to  try  his  for- 
tunes in  America,  he  embarked  for  New  York  two  years 
before  his  father,  and  landed  in  that  city  without  a  friend 
to  whom  he  could  look  for  counsel,  ignorant  of  the  Ian-' 
guage  and  customs  of  the  new  world,  and  possessing  very 
little  ready  money.  After  a  fruitless  search  for  employment 
in  the  city  he  went  to  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Schenectady  he  obtained  employment  on  a 
farm  at  seven  dollars  a  month,  in  the  meantime  diligently 
applying  himself  to  the  study  of  the  English  language. 
After  a  year  spent  in  this  way  he  returned  to  New  York, 
and  after  some  viscissitudes  and  spending  a  brief  probation 
at  minor  duties,  he  obtained  employment  at  Castle  Garden 
as  passenger  agent  of  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Kailroad 
Company.  This  was  his  starting  point.  Fidelity  to  his 
duties  secured  promotion,  and  he  steadily  advanced  from  one 
point  of  responsibility  to  another  until  he  became  one  of  the 
most  valuable  and  efficient  railroad  men  in  the  metropolis. 
The  emigrant  department  was  his  speciality.  When  his 
engagement  with  the  Pennsylvania  Central  closed,  he  entered 
into  relations  with  the  Central  Eailroad  of  New  Jersey,  and 
mainly  through  his  efforts  a  new  system  of  the  emigrant  busi- 
ness was  inaugurated,  the  object  of  which  was  to  facilitate 
the  rapid  transit  of  passengers  to  their  destination.  Mr. 
MULLER  visited  the  principal  points  of  debarkation  in 
Europe  and  established  agencies.  He  also  opened  offices  for 
the  sale  of  tickets  in  all  the  principal  cities  and  large  towns 
16 


242  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

of  continental  Europe,  which  enabled  passengers  to  go  direct 
to  any  part  of  the  United  States  without  delay  or  trouble. 
He  thus  established  an  immense  and  important  business,  in 
which  he  is  still  engaged,  being,  however,  at  present  con- 
nected with  the  Erie  Railway. 

Mr.  MULLEB  is  a  Democrat  of  the  old  Jackson  school, 
and  for  many  years  he  has  been  exceedingly  active  and  influ- 
ential in  the  politics  of  his  district.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  Apollo  Hall  wing  of  the  Democracy,  though  for 
some  time  past  he  has  been  a  member  of  Tammany  Hall. 
Though  contributing  largely  in  time  and  means  in  support 
of  the  local  organizations,  he  has  never  before  held  a 
political  office.  Last  fall  he  accepted  the  Assembly  can- 
didacy and  was  elected  by  the  handsome  majority  of  1,178. 
He  serves  in  the  House  on  the  Committees  on  Railroads, 
Salt,  and  Two-thirds  and  Three-fifths  Bills,  being  Chairman 
of  the  latter.  He  is  not  a  frequent  speech -maker  in  the 
Assembly,  preferring  to  win  distinction  in  a  more  quiet  and 
oftentimes  more  effective  way,  namely,  by  doing  his  whole 
duty  toward  his  constituents  without  parade  or  ostentation. 
During  the  recent  canvass  a  political  club  in  the  First  ward 
was  named  in  his  honor,  and  he  was  also  a  member  of  several 
such  organizations,  being  President  of  the  Germania  Demo- 
cratic Union,  and  also  of  the  Magnus  Gross  Association. 

In  addition  to  his  railroad  connection,  Mr.  MULLER  has 
other  large  interests,  and  has  been  a  director  in  the  Germania 
Bank  since  its  organization.  He  is  a  man  of  family,  having 
married  an  amiable  and  accomplished  lady  in  the  year  1859. 
In  person,  Mr.  MULLEB  is  about  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height, 
of  a  robust  and  vigorous  frame,  full,  round  face,  beaming  with 
amiability  and  good  nature,  and  features  on  which  the  best 
traits  of  humanity  are  indelibly  stamped.  He  is  the  personifi- 
cation of  health,  his  fresh  complexion,  and  clear,  sparkling  eye, 
indicating  exemplary  habits.  His  character,  socially  and  polit- 
ically, is  above  the  slightest  reproach,  and  his  legislative  career 
cannot  fail  to  be  honorable  to  himself  and  his  constituents. 


JAMES  M.  OAKLEY.  243 


JAMES  M.  OAKLEY. 


Mr.  OAKLEY  is  now  serving  his  fifth  term  as  the  represen- 
tative from  the  second  district  of  Queens  county,  and  ranks, 
in  point  of  continuous  service,  as  next  to  the  oldest  Demo- 
cratic member  of  the  present  Legislature.  He  was  born  in 
New  York  city,  on  the  19th  of  June,  1839,  received  a 
thorough  academic  education,  and  for  several  years  was 
engaged  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  real  estate.  Latterly 
he  has,  in  a  measure,  retired  from  active  business.  He  now 
resides  at  Jamaica,  Queens  county,  where  he  is  very  popular 
among  all  classes. 

Mr.  OAKLEY  has  mingled  considerably  in  politics,  and 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  his  party  in  a  very  large  measure.  He 
was  a  Republican  previous  to  1864,  but  in  that  year  he  voted 
for  Gen.  MCCLELLAN,  and  he  has  since  been  steadily  identi- 
fied with  the  Democratic  party.  No  other  man  in  his  district 
ever  had'  the  fortune  to  be  elected  to  the  Assembly  so  many 
times  in  succession.  In  the  canvass  of  1872  extraordinary 
efforts  were  made  to  defeat  him,  but  he  received  a  majority  of 
141  over  THEODORE  J.  COGSWELL,  Republican,  and  was  the 
only  Democrat  elected  in  Queens  county.  His  majority  in 
1873  was  895,  HENRY  C.  JOHNSON  running  against  him, 
and  last  fall  he  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  1,058,  his  oppo- 
nents being  H.  H.  ROWLAND,  Republican,  and  OWEN  S. 
GAVIN  and  H.  T.  BEDELL,  Independents.  Mr.  OAKLEY  is  a 
man  of  unusually  prepossessing  appearance  and  genial  man- 
ners. Well  posted  in  the  routine  of  legislation,  though  not  a 
great  talker,  he  is  an  efficient  and  valuable  member,  and  much 
esteemed  by  all  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  his  friendship. 

He  has  served  on  the  Committees  on  Roads  and  Bridges, 
Banks,  Militia,  Sub-Committee  of  the  Whole,  Commerce  and 


244  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Navigation  and  Public  Printing,  and  this  year  he  is  Chair- 
man of  Commerce  and  Navigation  and  member  of  Insurance. 
In  1873  his  seat  was  contested  by  Mr.  COGSWELL,  but  the 
committee  unanimously  decided  in  favor  of  Mr.  OAKLEY, 
after  a  thorough  investigation. 

I 


MICHAEL  O'KEEFE. 


Mr.  O'KEEFE  is  a  young  man  of  much  ability,  and  worthily 
represents  the  Seventh  district  of  Kings  county.  He  was 
born  in  Ireland,  September  28, 1837,  and  came  to  this  country 
at  an  early  age.  Locating  with  his  parents  in  New  York 
city,  he  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that 
city,  and  finally  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  For  several 
years  he  was  clerk  in  the  office  of  a  New  York  gas  company. 
He  is  now  a  wholesale  dealer  in  ales. 

When  the  Eebellion  broke  out,  Mr.  O'KEEFE  was  among 
the  first  to  volunteer,  and  went  to  the  front  on  the  19th  of 
April,  1861,  with  the  famous  Sixty-Ninth  Regiment,  New 
York  State  Militia.  In  the  following  May  he  was  promoted  to 
Lieutenant,  and  a  few  months  later  commissioned  as  Captain. 
He  acquitted  himself  honorably  during  his  term  of  service, 
and  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  his  comrades.  Though  long 
known  as  an  active  Democrat,  Mr.  O'KEEFE  has  not  before 
held  office.  He  was  elected  at  a  special  election,  held  to  fill 
the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Hon.  STEPHEN  J. 
COLAHAN,  by  a  plurality  of  120,  J.  C.  DENCKE,  Republican, 
and  JOHN  W.  FLAHERTY,  Democrat,  being  his  opponents. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Roads  and  Bridges 
and  Public  Health,  and  is  regarded  as  an  able  and  conscien- 
tious member  of  the  House. 


ALANSON  S.  PAGE.  245 


ALANSON  S.  PAGE. 


Mr.  PAGE,  who  is  now  for  the  first  time  in  the  Assembly, 
is  a  well-known  lumber  manufacturer  and  dealer  in  Oswego ; 
a  man  of  sound  financial  standing,  unswerving  integrity  and 
high  character,  a  fit  representative  of  a  city  which  deems  it 
essential  to  her  interests  to  invariably  send  one  of  her  best 
men  to  the  Legislature.  With  the  progress  and  growth  of 
that  city,  Mr.  PAGE  is  intimately  identified.  He  possesses, 
moreover,  liberal  ideas  and  comprehensive  knowledge  con- 
cerning her  commercial  needs  and  possibilities,  and  is  fully 
awake  to  the  nature  of  her  business  relations  with  other 
cities,  and  to  what  constitutes  her  rightful  share  in  the  volume 
of  trade.  His  undoubted  prominence  in  commercial  and 
financial  circles,  and  his  knowledge  of  our  great  channels  of 
intercommunication,  led  to  his  being  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  Canal  Committee,  and  in  that  commanding  position 
he  has  amply  justified  the  confidence  of  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  and  deserved  the  approbation  of  commercial  men 
throughout  the  State. 

Mr.  PAGE,  who  is  of  New  England  stock,  was  born  at 
Providence,  Saratoga  county,  on  the  30th  of  June,  1825. 
His  father,  DAVID  PAGE,  was  one  of  the  early  contractors 
in  the  construction  of  the  Erie  canal,  in  connection  with 
the  late  Hon.  STEPHEN  CLAEK  and  ALANSON  SUMNEK,  of 
Albany.  He  died  about  a  year  since,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  87.  Mr.  PAGE'S  maternal  ancestors  were  SUMMERS.  His 
maternal  grandfather,  KOBEBT  SUMNER,  who  was  a  man  of 
marked  ability,  emigrated  from  Connecticut  about  the  year 
1795,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Edinburgh,  Saracoga  county, 
where  he  died  at  a  very  advanced  age. 

Mr.  PAGE  was  educated  at  common  schools  until  his  six- 
teenth year.  The  next  three  years  were  spent  in  Galway 


246  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

academy  and  the  Oneida  Conference  seminary  at  Cazenovia» 
He  designed  adopting  the  profession  of  J;he  law,  and  with 
that  object  in  view  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Hon.  CLARK 
S.  GRINNELL,  at  Northampton,  Fulton  county,  where  he 
remained  a  student  for  some  time.  Afterward  he  studied 
with  the  well-known  law  firm  of  S.  &  C.  STEVENS,  in  Albany, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1848.  After  practicing  a 
year  in  the  village  of  Salina,  however,  he  abandoned  the  law 
and  entered  upon  a  business  career,  settling  soon  afterward 
in  Oswego,  and  embarked  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber, 
which  he  carried  on  very  extensively,  having  large  mills  and 
extensive  timber  tracts  of  land  in  Canada  and  Michigan. 
He  is  still  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade,  and  has-  acquired  a 
wide  reputation  as  a  business  man  of  great  ability. 

Though  gifted  with  abilities  which  fit  him  for  any  posi- 
tion of  trust  or  responsibility,  Mr.  PAGE  has  generally 
declined  the  honors  of  public  life,  the  only  office  he  has 
held,  previous  to  his  present  position,  being  that  of  Mayor 
of  Oswego,  which  he  filled  during  the  years  18G9,  1870,  1871 
and  1872.  He  won  universal  esteem  from  men  of  all  parties 
for  the  discreet  performance  of  his  municipal  duty,  and  his 
popularity  steadily  increased  during  each  year  of  his 
incumbency.  The  fact  of  his  popularity,  however,  needs  no 
further  evidence  than  is  found  in  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing his  election  to  the  Assembly.  He  was  placed  in  nomi- 
nation by  a  party  which  the  previous  year  was  in  a  minority 
to  the  extent  of  eleven  hundred  votes,  to  oppose  a  man  (Mr. 
CHENEY  AMES),  whose  qualifications  were  in  all  respects 
fully  equal  to  his  own,  and  he  succeeded  in  defeating  him  by 
a  majority  pf  376.  Such  a  mark  of  confidence  is  not  fre- 
quently paid  to  public  men,  but  it  was  no  more  than  a  just 
tribute  to  the  sterling  worth  of  ALANSON  S.  PAGE.  Mr. 
PAGE  has  always  been  a  sound  Democrat,  and  has  for  many 
years  occupied  a  leading  position  in  the  party.  Besides  being 
Chairman  of  the  Canal  Committee,  he  is  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Charitable  and  Religious  Societies.  He  is  a 


JOHN  F.  PECK.  247 

man  of  few  words,  straightforward,  practical  and  methodical 
in  advancing  legislation  in  his  charge,  and  is  habitually  cour- 
teous and  dignified  in  his  manner.  He  was  married  in  1853, 
to  ELSIE  B.,  only  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  D.  M.  BENSON,  of 
Geddes. 


JOHN  F.  PECK. 


Mr.  PECK  comes  from  Jefferson  county,  where  resides  a 
constituency  from  whence  is  derived  a  steady-going  and  honest 
class  of  legislators,  men  whose  mission  it  is  to  make  laws 
that  will  benefit  the  people  and  not  oppress  them.  Of  this 
class,  Mr.  PECK  is  a  fair  representative.  He  has  been  a 
farmer  all  his  life,  as  was  his  father  before  him,  and  like 
most  of  that  class  of  citizens  he  is  plain  and  practical  in  his 
ideas.  Having  resided  all  his  life  in  Jefferson  county,  he 
is  fully  conversant  with  the  interests  and  needs  of  that  sec- 
tion of  the  State,  and  is  well  qualified  to  speak  and  vote  in 
its  behalf. 

He  was  born  on  the  22d  of  September,  1824,  in  Cham- 
pion, Jefferson  county,  and  married  thirty-one  years  later  to 
a  Jefferson  county  lady,  Miss  EMILY  A.  GORDON".  His  fa- 
ther, JOSEPH  PECK,  Jr.,  also  a  native  of  the  same  county, 
and  a  farmer,  resided  during  most  of  his  life  on  the  farm  still 
occupied  by  the  son,  and  died  in  1846.  JOSEPH  PECK,  his 
paternal  grandfather,  lived  in  the  same  town  and  was  also 
a  farmer.  He  served  as  an  artificer  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  and  the  family  still  hold  his  honorable  discharge, 
signed  by  Gen.  WASHINGTON.  The  subject  of  the  present 
narrative  received  a  good  education  at  the  common  schools, 
and  also  at  the  Black  River  Literary  and  Religious  Insti- 
tute, and  qualified  himself  thoroughly  for  the  duties  of  man- 
hood. He  was  brought  up  as  a  Whig,  receiving  his  politi- 
cal education  from  the  Albany  Weekly  Journal,  which  he 


248  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

took  for  more  than  thirty  years.  He  joined  the  Republican 
party  on  its  organization,  and  has  acted  with  it  ever  since. 
Besides  representing  his  town  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  he 
has  never  before  held  any  important  office.  He  was  elected 
last  fall  by  453  majority  over  ANDREW  SMITH,  his  Demo- 
cratic opponent. 


NATHAN  D.  PETTY. 


Mr.  PETTY  is  a  prosperous  and  influential  lawyer  of  River- 
head,  Suffolk  county.  He  is  now  serving  his  second  term  in 
the  Assembly,  and  is  well  known  to  the  bar  of  the  State,  and 
to  the  entire  community  in  his  section,  as  a  man  of  fine 
ability  and  a  wide-awake  politician.  He  was  born  at  Good- 
ground,  Suffolk  county,  on  the  6th  of  January,  1842,  and  is 
therefore  still  quite  a  young  man.  His  parents,  CHAKLES 
and  HAREIET  PETTY,  are  both  living.  His  ancestors  were 
American  for  two  or  three  generations  back,  but  they  were 
originally  English  in  both  branches.  His  father  is  a  farmer, 
and  owns  a  valuable  estate  at  Goodground.  In  1857  young 
PETTY  entered  Sanbornton  Bridge  Seminary,  N.  H.,  and 
remained  one  year.  Afterward  he  spent  a  term  at  Fort 
Edward  Institute,  and  also  a  year  at  Eastman's  Business 
College  in  Poughkeepsie,  and  deeming  himself  fully  qualified, 
he  entered  Princeton  College  in  1860,  graduating  therefrom 
in  June,  1865.  In  1864,  while  a  student  at  Princeton,  he 
obtained  a  leave  of  absence  from  the  Faculty,  and  stumped 
the  States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  the  Presidential 
canvass,  making  numerous  exceedingly  effective  speeches  for 
the  Republican  cause.  He  has  always  spoken  in  most  of  the 
campaigns  since  that  time,  and  in  this  respect  his  service  to 
the  party  has  been  invaluable.  After  graduating  from 
Princeton  with  high  honors,  Mr.  PETTY  entered  the  Albanv 


NATHAN  D.  PETTY.  249 

Law  School,  from  which  he  graduated  the  following  year, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  State,  in  May,  1866. 
He  commenced  practicing  at  Goodground  the  same  year,  but 
that  locality  not  affording  sufficient  field  for  his  talents,  he 
removed  to  Kiverhead,  his  present  place  of  residence,  in  1868. 
He  has  been  eminently  successful  in  his  profession,  and  is 
now  enjoying  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  practice. 

Mr.  PETTY  has  been  a  Republican  all  his  life,  and  from  a 
very  early  age  was  actively  engaged  in  politics.  Never  but 
once,  however,  did  he  hold  public  office  previous  to  his  elec- 
tion to  the  Assembly.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  Assistant 
Assessor  of  Internal  Eevenue  for  Suffolk,  and  held  the  posi- 
tion until  May,  1873,  when  the  office  was  abolished.  In 
1873  he  ran  against  WILSOK  J.  TERRY,  the  Democratic 
nominee,  and  EDWARD  Y.  REEVE,  Prohibition,  and  was 
elected  by  what  was,  in  proportion  to  the  votes  polled,  the 
largest  majority  ever  given  to  a  candidate  in  Suffolk  county. 
His  majority  over  TERRY  was  1,285,  and  over  both  TERRY 
and  REEVE,  1,199.  The  total  vote  was  6,385.  The  Republi- 
can majority  in  the  district  the  previous  year  was  1,302,  but 
the  total  vote  was  8,390.  Last  fall  he  was  elected  by  a 
plurality  of  411,  his  opponents  being  RICHARD  JENFIHGS, 
Democrat,  and  DAVID  M.  EDWARDS,  Prohibition. 

Mr.  PETTY'S  personal  appearance  is  quite  striking,  and, 
indeed,  he  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  good-looking 
members  of  the  House.  His  finely  proportioned  form,  pale, 
but  expressive  countenance,  well  moulded  features,  and  coal- 
black  eyes  and  hair,  make  up  an  outward  individuality 
which  would  attract  attention  anywhere.  He  is  also  an 
excellent  speaker,  and,  whether  it  be  on  the  political  stump, 
in  a  court  of  law  or  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly  Chamber, 
he  is  equally  at  home  in  the  delivery  of  those  short  and 
pointed  speeches  which  seem  to  exactly  cover  the  point  at 
issue,  and  carry  conviction  with  them.  His  language  is 
invariably  chaste  and  well  chosen,  and  his  views  are  generally 
sound.  His  oratorical  efforts  are  therefore  quite  effective. 


250  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

He  is  not,  however,  noted  for  "  much  speaking,"  and  when 
he  does  rise  to  address  the  House,  it  is  usually  upon  the  spur 
or  inspiration  of  the  moment.  In  the  last  House  he  was 
especially  earnest  in  his  advocacy  of  the  Compulsory  Edu- 
cational bill,  but  he  also  took  an  active  interest  in  all  the 
important  legislation  of  the  session,  and  made  several  excel- 
lent speeches  upon  the  constitutional  amendments  then 
under  discussion.  In  the  present  House  he  is  equally  active 
and  prominent,  his  brilliant  oratorical  efforts,  and  his  judi- 
cious course  as  a  member  of  the  minority  serving  to  greatly 
increase  his  reputation.  A.  number  of  his  speeches  have 
attracted  newspaper  comment,  and  some  of  them  may  be 
ranked  among  the  best  speeches  of  the  session. 

In  religious  faith,  Mr.  PETTY  is  a  Congregationalist.  His 
private  character  is,  in  all  respects,  irreproachable,  and  he  is 
greatly  respected  in  the  community  where  he  resides.  He  was 
married  June  29,  1865,  to  CORNELIA  BAIMAN,  daughter  of 
WILLIAM  KAIMAN,  of  Newtown,  R.  I. 


LUCIUS  C.  PIERSON. 


Mr.  PIERSON",  the  Democratic  member  from  the  Second 
district  of  Steuben  county,  is  an  influential  citizen,  and  a  man 
of  considerable  ability.  He  was  born  in  Cameron  on  the  6th 
of  December,  1833,  and  is,  as  the  phrase  goes,  a  self-made 
man,  owing  nothing  to  family  or  money  influence.  His 
parents  were  in  limited  circumstances  and  consequently  he 
had  no  other  educational  advantages  than  those  afforded 
by  the  common  schools.  His  father,  GEO.  S.  PIERSOST, 
was  a  lumberman  in  early  life  and  finally  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  practice  of  law.  Mr.  PIERSON  readily  saw,  as 
he  grew  up,  that  his  future  prospects  depended  entirely 
upon  himself,  and  he  applied  himself  with  energy  to 


SETH  G.  POPE.  251 

qualify  himself  for  the  battle  of  life.  His  steady  habits  and 
turn  for  business  won  confidence  and  esteem,  and  he  soon 
made  a  place  for  himself.  During  most  of  his  life  he  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  farming  or  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
has  been  reasonably  successful  in  both.  His  main  business 
at  present  is  farming.  He  has  also  found  time  to  serve  the 
public  in  a  number  of  capacities.  He  was  elected  Justice  of 
the  Peace  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  held  the  office  eight 
years.  Twice,  in  1872  and  1873,  he  was  elected  Supervisor  of 
the  town  of  Cameron  and  served  in  the  board  with  credit.  In 
the  larger  field  to  which  he  has  been  transferred  by  his  election 
to  the  Assembly,  he  is  doing  good  work  for  his  constituents, 
and  bids  fair  to  materially  add  to  his  already  enviable  repu- 
tation. He  is  a  quiet  and  modest  member,  but  very  attentive. 
The  fact  that  he,  a  Democrat,  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of 
over  800,  in  a  Kepublican  district,  shows  that  he  is  well 
thought  of  at  home.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Claims,  Manufacture  of  Salt  and  Civil  Divisions. 

Mr.  PIERSON  was  married,  on  the  4th  of  August,  1860,  to 
CHARLOTTE  L.  BRIGGS,  of  Corning.  He*  is  a  firm  believer  in 
the  Christian  religion,  and  is  in  all  respects  a  quiet,  useful 
citizen. 


SETH  G.  POPE. 


The  most  casual  visitor  to  the  Assembly  chamber  would 
scarcely  fail  to  notice  the  tall  and  striking  form  of  the  mem- 
ber from  Ogdensburgh.  He  is  head  and  shoulders  above  the 
average  of  men  in  height,  and  his  face,  in  which  are  strongly 
marked  lines  of  character,  is  set  in  a  flowing  iron-gray  beard. 
He  gives  the  impression  at  once  that  he  is  a  man  of  much 
ability,  force  of  character,  and  tenacious  purpose,  and  it  is 
but  just  to  observe  that  acquaintance  strengthens  such  an 
impression. 


252  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

SETH  GEISWOLD  POPE  was  born  in  Great  Harrington, 
Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  on  the  14th  of  December,  1819. 

His  father,  EBENEZER  POPE,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
moved  in  early  life  to  Berkshire,  Mass.,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  in  1842,  at  the  age  of  68,  and  was  a  man  of  sterling 
worth  and  integrity.  He  was  a  Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian 
school,  and  as  such  represented  his  town  several  terms  in  the 
Legislature.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  ZADT  PED- 
DLE. She  was  widely  known  as  a  lady  of  exalted  Chris- 
tian faith  and  character,  remarkable  alike  for  her  kindly 
and  loving  disposition  and  large  charity.  She  died  in 
1863,  at  the  age  of  84,  leaving  a  large  family,  the  young- 
est of  whom  is  the  subject  of  our  sketch.  Mr.  POPE 
enjoyed  rather  limited  educational  advantages  during  his 
youth,  though  he  obtained  some  instruction  in  a  common 
school.  Previous  to  his  majority  he  served  four  years  at  the 
carpenter  and  joiner's  trade,  having  charge  of  part  of  his 
employers'  business  before  his  term  expired.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-two  he  commenced  business  for  himself.  During  the 
eight  years  following,  he  built  some  of  the  best  buildings  in 
southern  Berkshire,  as  well  as  several  railroad  bridges.  He 
removed  to  Ogdensburgh  in  1850,  and  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  doors,  sashes,  blinds,  and  similar  articles.  This 
business  he  still  successfully  continues  at  Ogdensburgh. 
Since  he  has  resided  in  Ogdensburgh,  however,  he  has  also 
been  extensively  engaged  as  a  contractor,  among  his  numer- 
ous works  of  magnitude  being  a  portion  of  the  new  reservoir 
in  Central  Park,  New  York,  and  several  grain  warehouses 
and  elevators  in  Canada.  For  some  years  he  has  been  gen- 
eral agent  for  the  King  Iron  Bridge  Company  in  the  eastern 
States,  where  he  is  well  known.  He  is  also  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business  in  Ogdensburgh.  In  all  his  multifarious 
enterprises  he  has  been  uniformly  successful,  and  enjoys 
wide  repute  for  strict  integrity,  rare  business  sagacity  and 
indomitable  energy. 


L.  BRADFORD  PRINCE.  253 

In  early  life  Mr.  POPE  was  a  Free  Soil  Democrat,  but  he 
was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  in  the  Kepublican  ranks,  and 
he  has  since  been  a  strong  supporter  of  the  principles  of  that 
organization.  He  was  the  first  Republican  President  of  the 
village  of  Ogdensburgh,  and  during  the  years  1863,  1864 
and  1865,  he  represented  the  town  of  Oswegatchie  in  the 
Board  of  Supervisors.  He  invariably  carries  into  every 
public  position  the  same  qualities  which  govern  his  conduct 
as  a  business  man,  and  in  him,  therefore,  the  people  have  a 
clear-headed  and  capable  representative.  Lie  was  elected  to 
the  Assembly,  in  1873,  by  a  majority  of  582  over  EDWIN 
G.  DODGE,  and  served  on  the  Committee  on  Commerce  and 
Navigation  and  Manufacture  of  Salt.  Last  fall  he  was  re- 
elected  by  a  plurality  of  1,690,  his  opponents  being  LEWIS 
HASBROUCK,  Democrat,  and  S.  V.  E.  HENDRICK,  Prohibition. 
He  serves  now  on  Trade  and  Manufactures  and  State 
Charitable  Institutions. 

Mr.  POPE  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
ISABELLA  M.  CARTER  of  Whitesboro,  Oneida  county.  She 
died  in  1857,  leaving  one  child.  In  1860  he  married  Mrs. 
H.  C.  CHAPIN,  daughter  of  B.  F.  HASKELL,  of  West  Corn- 
wall, Vt.  The  result  of  this  marriage  is  one  son  and  one 
daughter. 


.    L.  BRADFORD  PRINCE. 


In  view  of  his  five  years'  record  as  a  legislator,  his  emi- 
nence in  the  legal  profession,  his  prominence  in  literature 
and  politics,  and  his  honorable  connection  with  societies  and 
institutions  of  learning,  Mr.  PRINCE  may  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  prominent  men  of  our  State.  A  finely  cultivated 
gentleman,  a  thorough  scholar,  a  brilliant  and  forcible 
speaker,  and  a  man  of  decided  and  advanced  opinions  in 


254  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

most  departments  of  thought,  he  is  well  qualified  to  main- 
tain a  leading  position  in  a  legislative  body.  Mr.  PRINCE 
was  born  in  Flushing,  his  present  place  of  residence,  on  the 
3d  of  July,  1840.  He  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Gov.  WM. 
BRADFORD,  of  Plymouth,  one  of  the  "Men  of  the  May- 
flower," and  inherits  many  of  the  sturdy  virtues  of  his 
Puritan  ancestry.  Both  his  grandfather  and  his  great-grand- 
father, on  the  maternal  side,  were  Governors  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  on  the  paternal  side,  he  comes  of  the  well-known 
PRINCE  family,  of  horticultural  fame.  After  spending 
much  of  his  youth  in  South  Carolina  and  Florida  in  search 
of  health,  he  was  engaged,  for  a  short  time,  in  horticultural 
pursuits  at  Flushing,  but  his  tastes  leading  him  to  the  law, 
he  entered  Columbia  Law  School,  from  which  he  graduated 
with  the  highest  honors,  receiving  the  $200  prize  in  Political 
Science.  In  1868  he  was  complimented  by  being  chosen  as 
the  Alumni  orator,  and  is  now  President  of  the  Alumni  As- 
sociation of  the  Law  School.  As  a  lawyer  he  stands  high, 
being  a  clear  and  incisive  reasoner,  and  possessing  rare 
ability  as  an  advocate.  He  indulges  in  very  little  fanciful 
rhetoric,  relying  mainly  upon  carefully  presented  facts  and 
well  digested  deductions  therefrom. 

Mr.  PRINCE'S  political  career  reaches  over  a  period  of 
more  than  sixteen  years,  embracing  the  whole  history  of  the 
Republican  party.  His  interest  in  political  matters  early 
developed  itself,  and  as  long  ago  as  1856  —  in  the  Fremont 
campaign — he  was  an  active  writer  and  worker,  receiving  a 
special  vote  of  thanks  from  the  town  club,  of  which  he  was 
too  young  to  be  a  member.  In  1860,  though  still  not  a  voter, 
he  acted  as  officer  of  the  local  organization,  delegate,  speaker, 
etc.,  enthusiastically  supporting  the  Lincoln  ticket.  Since 
that  time  he  has  always  been  actively  engaged  in  political 
work,  though  living  in  a  county  where  the  heavy  Demo- 
cratic majority  precluded  all  expectation  of  personal  advance- 
ment ;  and,  as  a  political  speaker,  is  well  known  in  many 
sections  of  the  State.  Thirteen  years  ago  he  was  chosen  a 


L.  BRADFORD  PRINCE.  255 

member  of  the  Republican  Committee  of  Queens  county,  and 
has  been  its  presiding  officer  for  several  years.  He  was  also 
a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  National  Convention  in  1868,  and 
in  the  following  year  a  member  of  the  State  Committee.  He 
was  first  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1870,  when  he  received  a 
majority  of  1,415,  although  the  district  is  about  600  Demo- 
cratic. 

Mr,  PRINCE'S  popularity,  in  fact,  has  never  been  bounded 
by  party  lines,  men  of  all  shades  of  political  belief  recogniz- 
ing the  fact  that  his  splendid  abilities  are  available  for  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  people.  Though  not  entirely  unknown 
in  the  State  at  large  when  he  entered  the  Assembly,  his 
talents  commanded  speedy  recognition  in  that  body,  and  his 
skill  as  a  debater  and  his  legislative  efficiency  were  soon  appa- 
rent. In  the  fall  of  1871  he  was  again  placed  in  nomina- 
tion, and  though  his  opponent  was  the  strongest  Democrat 
in  the  district,  and  a  man  who  had  served  two  terms  in  the 
Assembly  and  one  in  the  State  Senate,  Mr.  PRINCE  received 
a  majority  of  1,169.  In  the  fall  of  1872  he  received  the 
extraordinary  compliment  of  a  request  for  his  continuance  in 
office,  signed  by  over  2,000  voters,  irrespective  of  party.  He 
was  thereupon  nominated  by  acclamation,  and  elected  with- 
out opposition.  Such  a  tribute  to  high  personal  character  and 
exceptional  official  fidelity,  is  rarely  extended  to  a  public 
man,  and  all  who  know  Mr.  PRINCE  will  readily  admit  that 
it  was  in  every  way  deserved.  In  the  fall  of  1873  he  was 
tendered  the  Senatorial  nomination,  but  he  declined  it  for  rea- 
sons in  the  highest  degree  honorable  to  him.  He  received  a 
unanimous  renomination  for  the  Assembly,  and  was  elected 
by  a  vote  of  2,424  against  401,  for  his  nominal  opponent,  J. 
H.  WRIGHT.  In  the  ensuing  canvass  for  the  Speakership,  he 
was  the  opponent  of  Mr.  HUSTED  in  the  caucus.  The  con- 
test was  close  and  exciting,  but  it  was  conducted  with  entire 
good  feeling  on  both  sides ;  and  though  Mr.  PRINCE  was 
defeated,  it  furnished  another  proof  of  the  high  estimation 
in  which  he  is  held  by  the  people.  The  fact  that  he  was,  in 


256  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

an  especial  sense,  the  candidate  of  .those  desiring  purity  and 
reform  in  legislation,  is  exceedingly  creditable  to  him.  Last 
fall  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  771  over  SOLOMON" 
TOWNSEND,  Democract. 

His  service  in  the  Assembly  has  been  an  honorable  one. 
As  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  in  1872,  1873  and 
1874  his  labors  were  not  only  multifarious  and  arduous,  but 
exceedingly  valuable  to  the  State.  It  was  his  province  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1872  to  conduct  the  investigation  into  the 
official  conduct  of  Judges  BARNARD,  CARDOZO  and  McCuNN. 
This  investigation  extended  from  February  19  to  April  10, 
during  which  time  239  witnesses  were  examined,  and  over 
2,400  pages  of  evidence  taken.  The  thoroughness  and  fair- 
ness with  which  the  investigation  was  prosecuted,  secured 
the  approbation  of  all  parties,  and  its  results  form  the 
brightest  page  in  the  history  of  that  Legislature.  The  ver- 
dict of  the  committee  was  so  evidently  based  upon  justice 
and  evidence,  that-  it  met  with  very  general  acquiescence. 
The  report  in  favor  of  impeaching  two  of  the  judges  and 
removing  the  other,  was  adopted  by  the  House,  and,  in  the 
choice  of  managers  to  conduct  the  impeachment  trial,  which, 
as  is  known,  resulted  in  the  disgrace  of  Judge  BARNARD, 
Mr.  PRINCE  received  110  of  the  113  votes  cast  by  the  House, 
the  others  chosen  varying  from  104  to  50  each.  He  was  also 
appointed  to  proceed  to  the  Senate  and  formally  impeach 
Judge  BARNARD  at  its  bar,  for  high  crimes  and  misdemea- 
nors. He  was  active  in  the  matter  until  the  trial  closed, 
and  it  is  probably  due  to  him  more  than  any  other  one  man, 
that  the  Judiciary  of  the  State  was  relieved  of  the  disgrace 
that  would  have  attended  BARNARD'S  continuance  on  the 
Bench. 

Mr.  PRINCE  has,  during  his  whole  legislative  career,  been 
the  uncompromising  foe  of  special  legislation.  He  favors 
the  passage  of  no  act  the  object  of  which  can  be  attained 
under  a  general  law,  or  which  can  be  taken  care  of  by  the 
boards  of  supervisors.  As  a  result  of  his  influence  and 


L.  BRADFORD  PRINCE.  257 

efforts,  the  volume  of  annual  legislation  was,  even  before 
the  adoption  of  the  constitutional  amendments,  materially 
reduced,  to  the  decided  advantage  of  the  State.  In  the  last 
session,  besides  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mitttee  (which  committee  annually  considers  nearly  400 
bills,  having  over  one-quarter  of  the  legislation  of  the  State 
referred  to  it),  he  was  member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  and  Eules,  and  this  session  he  is  on  Judiciary 
and  General,  Local  and  Special  Laws.  During  the  last  ses- 
sion he  was  especially  active  in  securing  the  passage  of  the 
amendments  to  the  Constitution,  adopted  by  the  people  last 
fall,  and  he  not  only  wrote  a  pamphlet  explaining  those 
amendments,  but  has  rendered  invaluable  aid  in  framing  the 
general  laws  required  by  the  amended  instrument. 

It  is  not  alone,  however,  in  the  field  of  politics  or  law  that 
Mr.  PRINCE  has  won  honor  and  fame.  He  is  well  known,  also, 
as  a  thoughtful  writer  and  lecturer  on  various  topics,  among 
which,  perhaps,  those  relating  to  Legislative  and  Govern- 
mental Eeform  have  attracted  the  widest  notice.  Several 
years  ago  he  wrote  a  work  entitled  "  E  Pluribus  Unum,  or, 
American  Nationality,"  which  passed  through  several  edi- 
tions, and  was  warmly  commended  by  statesmen  and  political 
scientists.  Something  over  a  year  since  he  delivered  a  lec- 
ture in  New  York  and  several  other  cities,  in  which  some  of 
the  evils  of  the  present  system  of  law-making  were  severely 
handled.  He  inveighed  very  strongly,  in  particular,  against 
special  and  local  legislation,  the  bulk  of  which  has  compelled 
much  of  the  important  work  of  every  session  to  be  crudely 
and  hastily  performed.  His  suggestions  attracted  much  atten- 
tion and  some  of  them  are  embodied  in  the  amended  Con- 
stitution. Mr.  PRINCE  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  having  been  D.  D.  Grand  Master  of 
Queens  and  Suffolk  counties  for  three  or  four  terms.  For 
ten  years  he  was  Superintendent  or  Director  of  the  Queens 
County  Agricultural  Society,  and  during  nine  years  has  been 
an  officer  of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society.  With  all  his 
17 


258  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

attainments,  Mr.  PRINCE  is  a  quiet,  courteous,  unassuming 
gentleman,  strictly  conscientious  in  all  his  dealings  with 
others,  and  it  is  evident  that  still  greater  honors  are  in  store 
for  him  in  the  future. 


HARRY  B.  RANSOM. 


Mr.  RANSOM  modestly,  but  ably,  represents  the  Fourth  dis- 
trict of  Erie  county.  He  was  born  in  Clarence,  Erie  county, 
November  20,  1834.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  afterward  studied  medicine,  graduating  from 
the  Fourteenth  Street  College,  in  New  York.  He  practiced  a 
number  of  years,  but  finally  abandoned  the  profession  and 
now  cultivates  a  farm  at  Grand  Island. 

Mr.  RANSOM  has  always  been  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
though  not  what  might  be  termed  a  thick-and-thin  partisan, 
he  has  generally  been  quite  active  on  that  side,  and  has  been 
honored  a  number  of  times  with  important  official  positions. 
During  the  years  1870  and  1871,  he  represented  his  district 
in  the  Assembly,  and  thus  obtained  a  familiarity  with  legis- 
lative duties  which  is  of  great  value  to  him  now.  He  served 
with  credit  during  both  years,  being  on  several  important 
committees.  He  has  also  been  a  member  of  the  Erie  county 
board  of  supervisors  during  several  years,  being  first  elected 
in  1865.  His  majority  in  the  Assembly  canvass  last  fall  was 
288  over  CHRISTOPH  SCHWINGER,  Republican,  which  is 
very  gratifying,  considering  the  fact  that  the  district  has  been 
represented  by  a  Republican  for  three  years  past.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  committees  on  Canals  and  State  Prisons,  and 
Chairman  of  that  on  Manufacture  of  Salt. 

Rarely  participating  in  debate,  Mr.  RANSOM  occupies  an 
influential  position  in  the  Assembly,  not  less  by  reason  of  his 
earnestness  and  sincerity,  than  by  judgment  and  carefulness. 


CHARLES  REILLY.  259 

He  attends  closely  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents  and  to 
the  general  business  of  the  Legislature,  and  is  a  good  repre- 
sentative of  that  class  of  quiet,  thoughtful  men  on  whom 
devolve  the  real  work  of  the  session. 


CHARLES  KEILLY. 


Mr.  KEILLY  represents  the  Fourth  district  of  Xew  York 
city.  He  is  a  quiet  member,  having  very  little  to  say  in  the 
way  of  debate ;  but  he  is  influential  and  active,  and  valuable 
in  connection  with  that  necessary  work  of  legislation  which 
is  not  so  apparent  to  the  ordinary  observer.  He  was  born  in 
Norwalk,  Conn.,  February  22,  1844.  After  spending  his 
youth  in  the  public  schools  of  New  York,  he  learned  the 
cooper's  trade ;  but  he  subsequently  abandoned  that  avoca- 
tion for  mercantile  life,  and  he  is  now  and  has  been  for  a 
number  of  years  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  liquor 
business. 

Mr.  REILLY  is  in  the  Assembly  as  the  representative  of 
the  regular  Tammany  organization,  with  which  he  has 
become  identified  since  its  rejuvenation.  He  never  held 
an  elective  office  before.  In  1873,  however,  he  was  the 
candidate  of  the  Apollo  Hall  Democracy  for  Assembly,  and 
was  defeated  by  131  votes,  and  the  year  previous  he  was 
defeated  in  the  aldermanic  canvass  in  his  district  by  a  vote 
of  228.  Last  fall  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  over  4,000, 
over  CHARLES  E.  ABBOTT,  the  Republican  candidate.  He 
is  a  capable  member  of  the  committee  on  Charitable  and 
.Religious  Societies. 


260  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JOSIAH  RICH. 


Mr.  RICH  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  Demo- 
cratic Assemblyman  ever  elected  in  the  third  district  of 
Monroe  county.  He  was  born  in  Ogden,  Monroe  county, 
December  23,  1833.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Washington 
county,  and  settled,  in  1825,  upon  the  farm  in  Monroe  county 
on  which  the  son  now  resides.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  has  followed  farming  all  his  life.  For 
eight  years  past  he  has  represented  his  town  in  the  Board  of 
Supervisors,  and  is  known  as  a  capable  and  judicious  mem- 
ber of  the  board.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a 
plurality  of  159  over  the  Republican  and  Temperance  candi- 
dates, and  serves  on  the  Committees  on  Internal  Affairs, 
Trade  and  Manufactures  and  Sub-Committee  of  the  Whole. 
He  is  an  attentive  and  intelligent  member,  and  is  doing  good 
service  for  his  district. 


JOHN  M.  ROSCOE. 


Schoharie's  present  representative  is  a  successful  farmer  of 
the  town  of  Carlisle,  a  man  of  wide  popularity  and  influence. 
The  fact  that  he  has  been  elected  Supervisor  for  nine  terms 
in  succession  without  opposition  is  a  sufficient  indication  of 
his  status  at  home.  He  is  well  educated,  being  a  graduate 
of  Carlisle  Seminary,  and  after  completing  his  studies  he 
taught  school  several  years.  He  was  born  in  Carlisle  on  the 
the  8th  of  March,  1837,  and  is  therefore  young  enough  to 
anticipate  a  successful  career  in  public  life,  for  which  he 


ALLEN  8.  RUSSELL.  261 

seems  well  fitted.  Aside  from  his  service  in  the  Board  of 
Supervisors,  of  which  he  has  been  chairman,  he  has  never 
held  any  important  public  position  until  he  came  to  the 
Assembly.  He  was  elected  to  that  body  by  a  majority  of 
1,887  over  his  Eepublican  opponent,  C.  B.  FEATHERS.  He 
has  always  been  a  Democrat  since  he  had  a  vote,  but  his 
political  action  is,  as  a  rule,  dictated  by  a  regard  for  the  inter- 
ests of  the  people  rather  than  that  of  party.  Hence  his 
popularity  with  men  of  both  parties.  He  serves  in  the 
House  on  the  Committees  on  Villages,  Internal  Affairs, 
Grievances  and  Sub-Committee  of  the  Whole. 


ALLEN  S.  RUSSELL. 


Mr.  RUSSELL  capably  represents  the  Second  district  of 
Wayne  county.  Although  he  came  to  Albany  without  pre- 
vious legislative  experience,  he  has  developed  much  aptitude 
as  a  debater,  and  takes  rank  among  the  prominent  members 
of  an  unusually  able  minority.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  up 
to  the  present  writing  (March  1),  he  has  not  been  absent 
from  the  sessions  of  the  House  a  single  hour.  Possessing 
numerous  agreeable  personal  traits,  and  much  native  courtesy 
of  manner,  he  is  popular  among  the  members,  without  regard 
to  party,  and  has  made  many  friends  during  his  brief  stay 
in  Albany. 

He  was  born  in  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  on  the  8th 
of  June,  1834,  and  is  therefore  in  the  early  prime  of  life. 
His  parents  are  both  living  in  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  and  on 
both  sides  he  is  able  to  boast  a  very  illustrious  ancestry. 
His  father,  MOSES  B.  RUSSELL,  is  descended  from  the  Dukes 
of  Bedford,  of  England,  the  line  being  traced  back  very  dis- 
tinctly through  a  period  of  one  thousand  years.  His  mother 


262  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

is  a  descendant  of  John  Rogers  the  Martyr.  His  ancestry, 
on  both  sides,  took  an  active  part  in  settling  the  country  and 
defending  it  from  its  foes.  His  paternal  grandfather,  DANIEL 
RUSSELL,  who  came  from  Connecticut,  settled  in  Wayne 
county,  in  1796.  His  maternal  great-grandfather  perished 
in  the  terrible  Indian  massacre  at  Wyoming,  and  his  mother's 
father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  mother's  maiden 
name  was  ELEANOR  L.  STODDARD. 

Mr.  RUSSELL  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  liberal  education. 
Until  1860,  he  attended  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute ; 
subsequently  he  entered  the  University  of  Michigan,  where 
he  remained  two  years.  In  1863  he  entered  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  graduated  in  1864  with  high 
honors.  During  1860  and  1861  he  was  a  teacher  in  the 
Marion  Collegiate  Institute,  becoming  in  the  latter  year  its 
Principal.  Since  his  graduation,  he  has  been  a  practicing 
physician  aud  surgeon,  and  owns  an  extensive  drug  store  in 
Marion.  In  April,  1864,  he  entered  the  Union  Army  as  an 
assistant-surgeon,  being  attached  to  the  general  hospital 
service,  and  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  gain  his  early  experience  in 
the  terrible  Wilderness  battles,  where  he  was  active  in  caring 
for  the  wounded.  After  this  he  was  on  duty  with  the  troops 
garrisoning  the  defenses  of  Washington,  and  in  January, 
1865,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigade-surgeon.  He 
had  the  reputation  of  having  the  best  field  hospital  in  the 
army  corps  with  which  he  was  connected.  He  left  the  ser- 
vice in  July,  1865.  During  his  service  he  was  placed  on 
duty  as  a  member  of  the  Army  Medical  Board  for  the  exam- 
ination and  discharge  of  sick  and  disabled  soldiers,  and  has 
been  offered  a  commission,  which  he  declined,  in  the  medical 
corps  of  the  United  States  army.  He  was  in  the  defenses  of 
Washington  when  President  Lincoln  was  assassinated,  and 
heard  him  deliver  his  last  speech. 

Mr.  RUSSELL  has  always  been  a  steadfast  Republican,  and 
has  generally  taken  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  his  dis- 
trict. He  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  two  years 


JONAH  SANFORD.  263 

and  then  resigned  it.  At  present  he  is  Town  Clerk  of  Marion, 
having  been  elected  by  a  majority  larger  than  any  other 
candidate  on  the  same  ticket.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly by  a  majority  of  767  over  HIRAM  WESTFALL,  his  Demo- 
cratic opponent,  and  serves  on  the  Committees  on  Public 
Health  and  Federal  Kelations. 

Mr.  RUSSELL  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  denomination, 
and  was  really  designed  for  the  ministry,  but  failing  health 
interfered  with  his  studies  in  that  direction,  and  his  mind 
was  turned  in  another  channel.  Eight  times  in  succession 
he  has  been  elected  superintendent  of  the  largest  Baptist 
Sunday  school  in  his  county.  He  believes  in  the  largest 
liberty  of  opinion  in  religious  matters.  He  was  married  to 
EMILY  A.  WEIGHT  in  1856. 


JONAH  SANFORD. 


JONAH  SANFORD  was  born  in  Hopkinton,  St.  Lawrence 
county,  New  York,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1821.  In  1847 
he  married  CLARINDA  RISDON,  daughter  of  ELISHA  RISDON, 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town  —  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity  and  unimpeachable  character,  and  for  many  years 
a  general  land  agent.  Mr.  SANFORD  is  a  son  of  the  late 
Judge  JONAH  SANFORD,  a  man  who  deserves  more  than  a 
passing  notice  in  this  sketch.  Judge  SANFORD  was  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  men  Northern  New  York  has 
known.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  and  associate  of  such 
men  as  SILAS  WRIGHT  and  PRESTON  KING,  and  it  is  but 
paying  a  just  tribute  to  his  memory,  when  we  say,  that 
no  man  labored  more  arduously  and  successfully  for  the 
advancement  of  the  interests  of  his  locality  than  he.  He 
was  the  son,  of  Hon.  BENJAMIN  SANFORD,  of  Cornwall, 


264  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Vermont,  and  was  born  November  30,  1790.  His  parents 
being  poor,  his  early  advantages  were  meagre  indeed,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty  he  started  westward  with  all  his  posses- 
sions upon  his  back,  and  selected  a  spot  in  Hopkinton,  where 
he  set  to  work  to  construct  a  home.  Here  he  incessantly 
toiled,  and,  being  a  man  of  indefatigable  industry,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  wresting  from  stubborn  nature  a  fine  homestead, 
upon  which  he  resided  till  his  death,  on  the  25th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1867.  Soon  after  settling  in  Hopkinton,  he  studied  law, 
and  for  many  years  thereafter  he  was  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful, if  not  one  of  the  ablest  practitioners  of  the  law  in 
Northern  New  York.  He  held  many  important  civic  and 
military  positions;  was  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Supervisor 
of  the  town  for  several  years,  Member  of  the  Legislature, 
Judge  of  the  County  Court,  Member  of  Congress  for  the 
unexpired  term  of  the  late  SILAS  WRIGHT  (when  the  latter 
was  elected  Comptroller)  and  a  member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1846.  In  the  military  service,  he  began 
as  a  volunteer  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  present  at  the 
battle  of  Plattsburgh,  September  11,  1814.  By  successive 
promotions  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  being 
the  successor  in  the  latter  capacity  of  Governor  WEIGHT. 
In  1827  he  was  appointed  a  Commissioner  to  lay  out  and 
build  the  Port  Kent  Road  through  a  wilderness  of  fifty 
miles,  a  work  of  great  difficulty.  But  the  noblest  effort  of 
his  life,  perhaps,  was  his  organization,  armament  and  disci- 
pline of  the  92d  New  York  Regiment  of  Volunteers  when 
seventy-one  years  of  age,  and  which  he  led  as  Colonel  to  the 
seat  of  war  on  the  James.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat 
till  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he 
early  united;  and  its  principles  found  in  him  an  earnest 
advocate  and  steadfast  adherent.  He  was  a  man  of  noble 
figure  and  commanding  presence,  and  a  fluent  and  forcible 
speaker.  His  example  and  worth  as  a  man  will  be  long 
remembered. 


JONAH  SANFORD.  265 

Mr.  SANFORD,  the  son,  attended  school  in  the  winters  only 
of  his  boyhood,  and  completed  liis  education  in  the  St.  Law- 
rence Academy,  at  Potsdam,  N.  Y.  On  arriving  at  major- 
ity, he  spent  the  first  four  years  following  as  superintendent 
of  his  father's  farm.  He  then  moved  upon  a  small  farm  of 
his  own,  and  toiled  with  such  perseverance  that  he  was  soon 
able  to  purchase  a  larger  property,  upon  which  he  has  since 
resided,  and  to  which  he  has  added  extensively.  He  also 
turned  his  attention  to  manufacturing  and  speculation,  and 
by  the  aid  of  good  judgment  and  management  has  succeeded 
in  accumulating  a  competence.  In  politics  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat up  to  the  organization  of  the  Eepublican  party,  to 
which  he  early  united,  and  to  which  he  has  steadfastly  ad- 
hered. His  first  vote  as  a  Republican  was  for  FREMOXT,  in 
1856.  His  townsmen  have  often  called  him  to  positions  of 
trust,  and  have  always  re-elected  him  by  an  overwhelming 
vote.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  Assistant  Assessor  of  Inter- 
nal Revenue,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  till  the  consolidation  of  tl\e  system,  in  1872. 
As  an  Assessor  he  bore  a  high  reputation  for  his  prompt- 
ness in  the  performance  of  duty,  his  faithfulness  to  the 
government,  and  his  exactness  in  the  affairs  of  the  office. 
At  the  termination  of  his  service,  the  Assessor  thanked  him, 
in  warm  terms  for  the  prompt  and  efficient  manner  in  which 
he  had  performed  his  duties. 

In  August,  1862,  he  was  appointed  Enrolling  Officer  for 
his  town.  In  1867,  some  eighty  enterprising  and  well-to-do 
farmers  of  the  towns  of  Lawrence,  Hopkinton,  Parishville 
and  Dickinson  established  a  union  store.  Mr.  S.  was  and 
still  is  its  President.  Under  his  judicious  management  it 
has  prospered  financially  beyond  expectation. 

He  was  first  elected  Supervisor  of  his  town  in  1868,  and 
has  been  annually  elected  by  a  two-third  majority  ever  since, 
being  the  first  who  has  held  the  position  for  more  than  two 
years  in  succession.  The  fact  that  he  has  been  each  time 
opposed  by  a  Republican  (except  last  year,  when  he  had  no 


266  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

opposition),  speaks  well  for  his  performance  of  the  duties  of 
the  trust.  Mr.  S.  is,  at  the  present  time,  a  Vice-President 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  County  Agricultural  Society,  and  also  a 
Director  of  the  Kaquette  Valley  Agricultural  Society. 

He  is  serving  his  second  term  in  the  Assembly,  his  judici- 
ous, straightforward  and  honest  course  in  the  last  House 
securing  the  warm  approval  of  his  constituents,  who  re- 
elected  him  last  fall  by  a  largely  increased  majority. 

Mr.  SANFOKD  is  an  active,  upright  business  man — a  man 
of  large  and  varied  experience  —  affable  in  his  manners,  and 
pleasing  in  appearance.  Though  not  of  the  "  talking- 
machine  "  class,  he  expresses  his  opinion  when  he  thinks  it 
his  duty,  and  always  to  the  point.  He  is  not  one  of  those 
"  who  wear  their  heart  out  on  their  sleeve,"  but  looks  on  the 
bright  side  of  things  generally.  Few  men  enjoy  with 
keener  relish  the  pleasure  of  social  intercourse.  He  gives 
freely  to  all  benevolent  and  charitable  purposes,  and  is  a 
thoroughly  public-spirited  man.  All  movements  for  the 
benefit  of  the  public,  or  undertakings  to  alleviate  the  dis- 
tresses of  personal  misfortune  have  his  hearty  support  and 
pecuniary  aid. 


MARTIN   SCHENCK. 


Mr.  SCHENCK  is  one  of  the  young  men  of  the  House,  and 
ably  and  intelligently  represents  the  interests  of  Montgomery 
county.  His  ancestors  came  from  Holland  in  1665  and 
settled  on  Long  Island,  but  his  father,  who  died  in  1873, 
resided  in  Montgomery  county,  and  was  a  well-known 
farmer  and  lumber  dealer.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born  in  Palatine,  where  he  still  resides,  January  24,  1847. 
He  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  common 
schools  at  his  native  place  and  in  the  High  School  at  Fonda. 


CHARLES  M.  SCHIEFFELIN.  267 

Afterward  he  entered  Union  College  at  Schenectady,  and 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1862.  For  some  years  afterward  he 
followed  the  profession  of  civil  engineering,  and  during  the 
years  1868  and  1869  he  was  engaged  in  the  important  work 
of  locating  the  line  of  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  Bail- 
road.  At  present  he  is  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  and  also 
in  farming. 

Mr.  SCHENCK  has  always  been  an  active  Democrat,  and 
although  he  held  no  official  position  previous  to  his  elec- 
tion to  the  Assembly,  he  has  played  a  prominent  part  in  the 
politics  of  his  district  and  has  frequently  held  posts  of  honor 
in  the  county  organization.  His  first  vote  was  cast  for 
HORATIO  SEYMOUR  in  1868,  and  he  has  since  been  unswerv- 
ing in  his  allegiance  to  the  principles  and  candidates  of  the 
party. 

He  was  elected  over  MARTIN  L.  STOVER,  the  Republican 
Member  of  the  last  House,  by  a  majority  of  781,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Committees  on  Railroads  and  Militia. 

A  gentleman  of  fine  presence,  courteous  manners  and 
numerous  graces  of  character,  Mr.  SCHENCK  is  quite  popu- 
lar in  the  Assembly.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  and  is  unmarried. 


CHARLES  M.  SCHIEFFELIJST. 


The  present  Assembly  contains  an  unusual  number  of 
young  men  under  thirty  years  of  age,  a  fact  which  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of  in  any  estimate  of  that  body  as  a  whole,  as  it 
will  be  found  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  really  progres- 
sive legislation  is  due  to  the  influence  and  efforts  of  precisely 
that  class,  and  upon  them,  also,  mainly  devolves  much  of 
the  active  work  of  the  Assembly  —  that  labor  which  calls 


268  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

especially  for  the  exercise  of  alert  and  untiring  energy. 
Among  the  young  men  of  the  House  —  those  who  have  just 
entered  public  life,  and  have  a  promising  future  yet  before 
them  —  none  are  more  conspicuous  than  Mr.  SCHIEFFELLN", 
of  the  Second  district  of  Westchester  county  —  a  rising 
lawyer,  and  a  gentleman  of  fine  attainments  and  engaging 
personal  manners.  He  has  attracted  much  attention 
throughout  the  session,  because  of  his  straightforward 
course,  his  independent  spirit,  and  his  evident  determina- 
tion to  prove  himself  in  all  respects  a  faithful  representative, 
not  only  of  the  interests  of  his  own  immediate  constitu- 
ency, but  of  the  State  at  large.  Keenly  watchful  of  the 
progress  of  legislation,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  interpose  an 
earnest  and  vigorous  protest  against  impioper  schemes,  no 
matter  whence  they  emanate,  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  who 
proposes  to  discharge  his  duties  zealously  and  conscientiously 
under  all  circumstances. 

Mr.  SCHIEFFELIN  was  born  at  Little  Falls,  N.  J.,  June  14, 
1847.  He  is  really  a  New  Yorker,  however,  as  he  has  lived  in 
the  town  of  East  Chester,  Westchester  county,  since  early 
childhood.  He  comes  of  excellent  stock — the  SCHIEFFELINS 
being  an  old  and  respected  family — their  ancestors  having 
settled  on  Manhattan  Island  early  in  the  year  1700.  He 
received  a  classical  education,  and  also  graduated  from  the 
Columbia  College  Law  School  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B. 
Subsequently,  in  the  year  1870,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  has  since  practiced  in  the  courts  of  New  York  city  and 
Westchester  county  with  marked  success,  enjoying  an  excel- 
lent reputation  and  an  extensive  and  remunerative  practice. 
Notwithstanding  the  demands  made  upon  his  time  by  his 
increasing  legal  business,  Mr.  SCHIEFFELIN*  is  a  diligent 
student  and  spends  much  of  his  time  in  his  library.  A 
short  time  since  he  made  an  extended  tour  in  Europe,  and 
made  a  very  close  study  of  the  different  shades  of  political 
opinion  prevalent  on  the  continent,  rendering  himself  familiar 
with  the  views  of  all  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  old  world. 


CHARLES  M.  SCHIEFFELIN.  269 

Such  a  study  cannot  be  otherwise  than  profitable  and  inter- 
esting to  a  rising  American  politician,  the  mutations  of 
parties  in  Europe  affording  material  for  many  valuable  lessons. 

Mr.  SCHIEFFELIN  is  a  Democrat  of  liberal  views.  He 
frequently  takes  part  in  the  discussions  on  the  floor,  his 
speeches  being  always  exceedingly  short  and  very  pointed 
and  vigorous  in  tone.  At  home  he  is  deservedly  popu- 
lar, as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  over 
two  candidates  by  upward  of  1,100  plurality  in  a  district 
which  for  three  years  previously  had  sent  a  Republican  to 
the  House.  As  member  of  the  important  Committees  on 
General  Laws,  Villages  and  Federal  Relations,  he  is  an 
exceedingly  useful  and  able  legislator. 

Mr.  SCHIEFFELIH  is  a  man  about  the  medium  height, 
robust  and  well  built,,  and  always  genial  and  agreeable  in  his 
intercourse  with  his  fellow-members.  He  married  a  lineal 
descendant  of  FREDERICK  AUGUSTUS  MUHLENBERG,  first 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  is  a  member 
in  good  standing  in  the  Masonic  order,  and  for  seven  years 
was  an  active  and  useful  member  of  the  National  Guard  of 
this  State,  having  as  a  recognition  of  his  efficiency  as  an 
organizer  and  disciplinarian,  received  a  commission  as  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of  the  Sixth  Infantry,  N.  G.  S.  N.  Y.,  one  of 
our  best  German  regiments.  The  present  is  the  only  political 
office  he  has  ever  held. 


X 


270  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


GEORGE  W.  SCHUYLER. 


Mr.  SCHUYLER  is  well  known  throughout  the  State  as  au 
exceedingly  careful  and  shrewd  financier,  a  judicious  coun- 
sellor in  political  matters,  and  a  successful  man  of  business. 
His  ripe  judgment  and  rare  executive  ability  have  been  of 
great  value  to  the  State  in  the  responsible  positions  in  which 
he  has  been  placed,  while  there  are  none  of  our  statesmen  of 
the  present  day  who  rank  higher  than  Mr.  SCHUYLER  in 
point  of  private  character.  Strict  honesty  has  been  the 
invariable  rule  of  his  business  and  official  life,  and  though  he 
had  the  control  and  care  of  the  moneys  of  the  Common- 
wealth at  a  trying  period  in  its  history,  no  word  has  ever 
been  breathed  that  would  express  a  doubt  of  his  faithfulness 
or  his  capacity  for  the  trust. 

Mr.  SCHUYLER  was  born  in  Stillwater,  Saratoga  county,  on 
the  2d  of  February,  1810,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  Ithaca  Academy  and  the  University  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  graduating  from  the  latter  in  the  year  1837. 
His  tastes  led  him  into  business  life,  and  for  many  years  past 
he  has  been  at  the  head  of  a  prosperous  drug  business  in 
Ithaca.  He  has  never  before  been  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  indeed  has  never  courted  public  life,  but  yielding 
to  the  solicitations  of  friends,  who  knew  his  qualifications 
for  the  position,  he,  in  1863,  allowed  his  name  to  be  used  for 
the  State  Treasurership,  and  was  elected  on  the  Eepublican 
ticket.  His  services  in  that  capacity  were  so  entirely  satis- 
factory, that  on  the  expiration  of  his  two  years  term,  he  was 
induced  to  take  the  Superintendency  of  the  Bank  Depart- 
ment. That  office  he  held  four  years,  or  until  1870.  In 
these  positions  he  gained  an  experience  and  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  finances  of  the  State  which  stand  him  in  good 
stead  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly,  and  Speaker  McGuiRE 


GEORGE  W.  SCHUYLER.  271 

/ 

evinced  wisdom  in  awarding  him  the  Chairmanship  of  the 
Committee  on  Banks.  His  presence  in  the  Assembly  is 
especially  valuable  this  session,  inasmuch  as  the  amendments 
to  the  constitution  render  necessary  important  general  laws 
for  the  incorporation  and  regulation  of  banks  of  savings  and 
discount.  The  general  savings  bank  act,  which  seeks  to  es- 
tablish a  uniform  charter  for  all  those  institutions,  and 
which  at  this  writing  is  still  under  discussion,  is  largely  the 
result  of  Mr.  SCHUTLEB'S  industry.  The  measure  has  elici- 
ted protracted  and  sharp  debate,  in  which  Mr.  S.  has  borne 
himself  with  admirable  tact  and  skill,  not  hesitating  to  cross 
swords  with  the  leading  parliamentarians  of  the  House.  His 
success  in  this  respect  is  a  subject  of  complimentary  remark 
among  those  who  have  listened  to  the  discussions  referred 
to,  while  it  is  evident  to  all  that  he  is  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  intricacies  of  bank  management  in  this  State. 

During  eighteen  successive  years  Mr.  SCHUYLER  was 
Trustee  of  the  Public  Schools  in  Ithaca,  and  during  that 
long  period  there  never  occurred  a  serious  difference  of  opin- 
ion in  the  Board. 

In  politics  Mr.  SCHUYLER  is  a  Liberal  Eepublican, 
though  previous  to  1872,  when  he  supported  the  Cincin- 
nati movement,  he  was  a  Republican.  In  the  late  canvass 
he  received  the  entire  Democratic  vote,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  his  opponent  was  WM.  L.  BOSTWICK,  a 
very  able  and  popular  member  of  the  House  last  year,  he 
also  received  the  support  of  many  Eepublicans.  His  triumph 
was  all  the  more  gratifying,  as  he  made  no  personal  effort  to 
secure  his  election,  and  indeed,  consented  very  reluctantly  to 
the  use  of  his  name. 

Mr.  SCHUYLER  is  in  some  respects  a  model  legislator.  He 
scarcely  every  misses  a  session,  and  is  always  watchful  and 
alert.  He  is. not  given  to  much  speaking,  but  as  he  forms 
very  decided  opinions  upon  all  questions  which  come  before 
him,  he  is  not  chary  about  giving  them  expression  when  he 
thinks  the  occasion  requires  it.  His  speeches  are  short  and 


272  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

to  the  point,  and  always  courteous  and  pleasantly  dignified 
in  tone.  His  manner  in  private  intercourse  has  the  same 
characteristics,  and  few  members  of  the  House  are  more 
popular,  socially  speaking,  than  the  member  from  Tomp- 
kins. 


SAMUEL  SCUDDER. 


Mr.  SCUDDER,  a  substantial  farmer  and  lumberman  of 
Cattaraugus  county,  is  serving  his  first  term  in  the  Assembly. 
His  popularity  at  home  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  over  100  in  a  Republi- 
can  district,  defeating  a  Republican  who  has  twice  in  succes- 
sion represented  the  district  in  the  Assembly.  Though  elec- 
ted as  the  Democratic  candidate,  he  has  on  several  occasions 
shown  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly  that  he  is  a  man  of  inde- 
pendent views,  and  his  legislative  action  is  dictated  rather  by 
a  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  people  than  for  any 
mere  party  advantage.  This  principle  has  evidently  dictated 
his  action  during  his  entire  political  career,  inasmuch  as  he 
has  never  allowed  himself  to  be  bound  by  his  party  connec- 
tion when  it  conflicted  with  his  ideas  of  duty.  Originally  a 
Henry  Clay  Whig,  he  joined  the  Eepublican  party  at  its 
organization,  and  up  to  1872  acted  with  that  party.  In  that 
year  he  was  one  of  those  who  espoused  the  Cincinnati  move- 
ment, and  he  gave  earnest  support  to  the  Liberal  cause.  With 
other  participants  in  that  movement,  he  has  gravitated  toward 
the  Democratic  party,  but  styles  himself  a  Liberal  Repub- 
lican. 

Mr.  SCUDDER  is  of  Scotch  descent  on  the  paternal  side, 
though  his  mother  was  born  and  reared  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley.  Both  his  parents  died  within  a  few  hours  of  each  other. 
His  father  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  his  grandfather  in 


FREDERICK  W.  SEWARD.  273 

the  Revolution.  The  son  was  born  in  Randolph,  where  he 
now  resides,  on  the  3d  of  April  1830.  Attending  the  com- 
mon schools,  during  early  youth,  and  afterward  the  Chamber- 
lain Literary  Institute,  he  acquired  a  good  education,  and  has 
followed  farming  and  kindred  occupations  all  his  life.  Indom- 
itable energy  and  determination  and  sterling  honesty  are  the 
chief  features  of  his  character,  and  as  a  result  he  has  been 
successful  in  every  thing  he  has  undertaken. 

He  has  several  times  been  honored  with  public  trusts,  hav- 
ing held  the  office  of  Supervisor  during  a  period  of  eight 
years,  and  being  several  times  elected  unanimously.  During 
the  rebellion  he  rendered  important  aid  in  filling  the  quota 
of  volunteers.  He  was  married  on  the  3d  of  June,  1853. 
His  religious  creed  consists  mainly  in  obedience  to  the  injunc- 
tion, "  Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  and  in  all  the  relations 
of  life  he  is  an  upright  and  straightforward  citizen. 


FREDERICK  W.  SEWARD. 


The  Seventh  Assembly  district  of  the  county  of  New 
York  consists  of  parts  of  the  ninth,  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
wards.  The  representative  is  FREDERICK  W,  SEWARD,  one 
of  the  most  capable,  accomplished  and  eloquent  members  of 
the  House.  He  was  born  in  Auburn,  Cayuga  county,  New 
York,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1830,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late 
Governor  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD.  He  received  his  earliest 
schooling  at  the  Auburn  Academy,  Prof.  WILLIAM  HOP- 
KINS, Principal,  and,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  numbered 
ROSCOE  CONKLING  among  his  school-mates.  Coming  to 
Albany  to  reside  while  yet  a  mere  lad,  he  was  sent  to  the 
Pearl  Street  Academy  —  an  institution  that  has  long  since 
vanished  —  and  there  attended  recitations  'with  MORGAN 
35 


274  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

Dix  and  other  boys,  whose  names  have  since  become  well 
and  widely  known.  In  the  fall  of  1845  he  entered  the 
Freshman  Class  of  Union  College,  and,  four  years  later, 
graduated  from  that  ancient  seat  of  learning.  The  Class 
of  '49  contained  not  a  few  members  that,  in  their  subse- 
quent career,  have  done  honor  to  their  alma  mater,  and 
played  a  prominent  part  on  the  stage  of  the  world.  ALLEN 
C.  BEACH,  late  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York,  DANIEL 
A.  BUTTERFIELD,  Major-General  and  Chief  of  HOOKER'S 
staff  during  the  late  war,  ANSON  G-.  CHESTER,  editor  and 
poet,  EGBERT  POTTER,  since  Major-General  POTTER,  ALONZO 
FLACK,  now  Professor  FLACK  of  Claverack,  and  ALBON 
MAN,  were  among  the  youths  who  graduated  with  the  subject 
of  our  present  sketch. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1849  Mr.  SEWARD  went  to 
Washington,  where  he  spent  a  year  or  more  as  Private  Sec- 
retary to  his  distinguished  father,  who  at  that  time  was  one 
of  New  York's  representatives  in  the  United  States  Senate. 
While  thus  employed,  as  occasion  offered  at  Washington, 
and  during  the  Congressional  recess,  at  Auburn,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  study  of  law,  which  he  had  adopted  as  his 
profession.  In  the  spring  of  1851,  with  a  view  of  complet 
ing  his  preliminary  legal  studies,  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
New  York,  and  entered  the  office  of  KENT  and  DAVIES  as  a 
student.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year  he  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  at  Kochester,  but  before  he  had  time  to  enter 
actively  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  received  a 
letter  from  THURLOW  WEED,  inviting  him  to  come  to 
Albany,  and  embark  in  journalism.  The  invitation  was 
accepted,  and,  before  the  close  of  the  year  1851,  Mr.  SEWARD 
was  enrolled  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Albany  Evening  Jour- 
nal. He  held  the  position  of  Associate  Editor  of  that  paper 
from  that  time  until  1861.  While  living  at  Albany  he  took  a 
'deep  and  active  interest  in  politics,  espousing  the  side  that 
enlisted  his  sympathy  and  judgment  with  much  energy 
and  efficiency,  and  was  also  alive  to  whatever  tended  or 


FREDERICK  W.  8s WARD.  275 

seemed  likely  to  tend  to  the  best  interests  of  the  city.  He 
heartily  assisted  in  getting  up  the  meeting  that  resulted  in 
the  foundation  of  the  University  of  Albany,  and  presided  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Young  Men's  Liberty  Association,  held 
in  behalf  of  down-trodden  Hungary.  When  KOSSUTH  passed 
through  the  city  he -was  selected  by  the  Association  as  their 
spokesman,  and  as  such  welcomed  the  distinguished  exile 
to  Albany. 

In  1854,  directly  after  the  State  of  New  York  had  gone 
"fusion"  —  the  Whigs  and  Know  Nothings  electing  their 
ticket  —  he  was  one  of  the  many  "  malcontents"  who  met  at 
Albany  to  inaugurate  a  Kepnblican  party.  That  party  had 
already  found  foothold  in  the  New  England  and  North- 
western States,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  school  of  politi- 
cians with  which  Mr.  SEWARD  was  identified  the  time  had 
come  for  the  Republicans  of  New  York  to  organize.  The 
meeting,  which  was  attended  by  JOHN  L.  SCHOOLCRAFT, 
BRADFORD  K.  WOOD,  C.  P.  WILLIAMS,  WILLIAM  BARNES 
and  many  other  well-known  citizens  representing  different 
shades  of  political  belief,  was,  it  is  believed,  the  first  formal 
Eepublican  gathering  ever  held  in  the  State.  It  resulted 
in  an  invitation  to  Hon.  HENRY  WILSON,  now  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  to  address  the  Republicans  of 
Albany.  He  complied  and  soon  afterward  made  an  eloquent 
speech  at  the  Capitol. 

In  1857  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  PRESTON  KING,  F.  B. 
BLAIR  and  FRANCIS  E.  SPINNER  made  a  pleasure  tour 
through  Canada,  and  the  subject  of  our  sketch  accompanied 
them.  Having  seen  the  sights  of  Canada,  he  and  his  father 
left  the  rest  of  the  party,  passed  down  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence and  so  to  Labrador.  Three  years  previous  young 
SEWARD  had  married  Miss  WHARTON,  of  Albany,  and  she 
accompanied  her  husband  and  father  on  their  voyage  to 
Labrador. 

The  election  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  in  1860  and  the 
consequent  appointment  of  Governor  SEWARD  as  Secretary 


276  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

of  State  in  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  had  an  important  influ- 
ence in  shaping  the  story  of  FREDERICK  W.  SEWARD'S  life. 
In  February,  1861,  he  was  requested  by  his  father  to  leave 
Albany  and  join  him  at  Washington.  He  did  so  without 
delay,  and  as  confidential  friend  and  adviser  and  secretary  he 
was,  we  need  not  say,  of  immeasurable  service  to  Governor 
SEWAED,  who  found  himself  confronted  with  the  trying  and 
many-phased  problem  of  secession.  He  remained  with  his 
father  constantly  until  after  the  inauguration  of  President 
LINCOLN".  His  was  the  memorable  and  historic  mission  from 
"Washington  to  Philadelphia  to  warn  the  President  elect  that 
he  stood  in  grievous  danger  of  being  assassinated  in  passing 
to  the  National  Capital,  through  Baltimore.  The  exciting 
story  of  the  warning  and  the  escape  has  been  told  so  often 
that  we  will  not  stop  to  rehearse  it  here. 

On  the  4th  day  of  Match,  1861,  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  inaugur- 
ated President,  and  on  the  following  day  submitted  to  the 
new  Senate  the  name  of  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  as  Secretary 
of  State.  A  day  later  he  nominated  FREDERICK  "W.  SEWARD 
as  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  nominee  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing,  from  the  lips  of  CHARLES  SUMMER,  the 
first  intelligence  of  his  prompt  and  unanimous  confirmation 
by  the  Senate.  The  Assistant  Secretary's  first  duty  was  to 
assist  his  father  in  the  delicate  and  arduous  duty  of  weeding 
out  the  disloyal  element  from  the  Department  of  State. 
This  was  accomplished  within  the  first  week  after  the  organi- 
zation of  the  new  government  so  successfully,  that  during 
Mr.  SEWARD'S  entire  term  in  the  department,  covering  a 
period  of  eight  years,  ic  was  never  found  necessary  to  dismiss 
another  clerk.  The  distribution  of  duties  in  the  State 
department  was  such  that  the  Secretary  took  charge  of  the 
diplomatic  business,  and  the  Assistant  Secretary  that  con- 
nected with  consuls,  etc.  Assistant  secretaries  of  the  various 
departments  of  government  are  usually  commissioned  to  act 
for  their  superior  officers  in  case  of  absence  or  sickness,  and 
during  the  eight  years  of  his  service  as  Assistant  Secretary 


FREDERICK  W.  SEWARD.  277 

of  State,  Mr.  SEWARD  was  appointed  by  Presidents  LINCOLN 
and  JOHNSON,  Acting  Secretary  of  State  some  twenty  times 
or  more.  An  acting  Secretary  occupies  his  chiefs  place  in  the 
Cabinet  councils,  and  directs  the  business  of  the  department. 
From  1861,  when  he  became  connected  with  the  State 
department  until  1869,  when  he  resigned  his  office,  FREDE- 
RICK W.  SEWARD  aggregated  some  six  months  as  Secretary  of 
State.  As  such  he  sat  in  the  Cabinet  meeting  in  the  winter 
of  1862,  when  an  advance  along  the  lines  was  ordered,  whose 
fruits  were  seen  in  the  victories  of  Forts  Donelson,  Henry, 
etc.  As  acting  Secretary  of  State,  he  also  attended  the 
important  Cabinet  meeting  held  after  the  second  defeat  of 
Bull  Eun,  at  which  LINCOLN  decided  to  restore  McCLEL- 
LAN  to  the  command  of  the  army,  and  sanctioned  the 
movement  which  resulted  in  South  Mountain  and  Antietam. 
Again  he  sat  in  the  Cabinet  on  the  great  occasion  when  the 
policy  of  reconstruction  was  decided  —  on  the  day  of  the 
evening  on  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  assassinated.  Parting 
with  the  President  at  the  close  of  that  meeting,  Mr.  SEWARD 
reminded  him  that  a  new  British  Minister  was  to  be  pre- 
sented and  inquired  if  the  ceremony  should  take  place  the 
next  day.  "  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  LINCOLN,  "  I'll  receive  him  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  Blue  Boom."  That  was  their  last  inter- 
view. 

Mr.  SEWARD  was  intimately  connected  with  most  of  the 
important  events  in  the  history  of  the  American  Union  of 
that  stormy  period  included  between  the  years  1861  and 
1869. 

In  1866  he  was  sent  on  a  special  mission  to  St.  Domingo, 
by  the  government.  The  United  States  had  long  been  desir- 
ous of  obtaining  a  harbor  for  coaling,  etc.,  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  the  republic  of  St.  Domingo  had  offered  the  Bay  of 
Samana  and  asked  that  an  envoy  might  be  sent  to  treat  with 
her  for  its  transfer.  Mr.  SEWARD  was  intrusted  with  the 
mission,  being  clothed  with  plenipotentiary  powers  so  as  to 
enable  him  to  conclude  a  treaty  if  he  thought  fit  to  do  so. 


278  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

The  Naval  Department  detailed  Admiral  POKTEB  to  examine 
and  advise  in  regard  to  naval  advantages  that  might  arise 
from  obtaining  the  harbor ;  and  Mr.  SEWARD  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  their  destination  in  the  vessel  Gettysburgh,  which 
was  placed  at  their  service.  On  their  arrival  at  St.  Domingo, 
they  entered  into  negotiations  with  President  CABEAL  and 
his  cabinet,  and  found  what  they  were  willing  to  concede. 
Concluding  that  it  was  not  desirable  for  the  United  States  to 
make  the  treaty  required,  they  returned  to  "Washington  and 
reported  to  that  effect.  Later,  Senor  PTJJOL,  representing 
St.  Domingo,  brought  word  to  the  State  Department  that 
that  republic  was  willing  to  make  the  treaty  on  the  terms 
proposed  by  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  SEWARD,  and  Admi- 
ral PORTER.  When  his  offer  was  made,  however,  the  discord 
between  the  President  and  Congress  had  reached  such  a 
point  that  negotiations  were  no  longer  practicable. 

For  a  detailed  record  of  the  scenes  and  events  with  which 
Mr.  SEWARD  was  connected  during  his  connection  with  the 
State  Department  as  assistant  Secretary  of  State,  the  treaties 
with  England,  China,  Japan,  and  other  foreign  powers,  the 
blockade  of  the  southern  ports,  the  assassination  of  the 
President,  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  and  the  Assistant  Secretary,  the  impeachment  of  Presi- 
dent JOHNSON,  etc.,  etc.,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  biography 
of  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  upon  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  now  engaged. 

On  the  fourth  of  March  1869,  he  and  his  father  resigned 
from  the  State  Department.  In  June  they  made  the  journey 
across  the  continent,  stopping  at  Utah  and  Colorado,  and 
after  a  month  in  California,  proceeded  to  Vancouver's  Island, 
Puget  Sound,  Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  British  Colum- 
bia, and  so  up  the  inland  passage  to  Alaska,  where  they 
remained  a  month.  Eeturning  to  California  by  steamer, 
they  next  proceeded  to  Mexico.  Here  they  spent  three 
months,  Governor  SEWARD  being  the  guest  of  the  nation. 

During  the  last  few  years  Mr.  SEWARD  has  resided  most 


STEPHEN  D.  SHATTUCK.  279 

of  the  time  at  Montrose,  Westchester  county.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  342  over  SMITH  E. 
LAN~E,  his  Democratic  competitor.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Charitable  and  Keligious  Societies,  and  Gen- 
eral, Local  and  Special  Laws,  and  also  of  the  Joint  Committee 
charged  with  investigating  the  affairs  of  the  canals. 


STEPHEN  D.  SHATTUCK. 


The  First  district  of  Steuben  ranks  among  the  "  closely 
contested"  localities  of  the  State,  and  neither  party  can 
claim  a  monopoly  of  its  representation.  This  year  Mr.  SHAT- 
TUCK, an  able  and  well  known  Democrat,  has  the  honor  of 
representing  it  for  the  second  time.  He  is  a  man  about  the 
middle  age,  rather  undersized,  active  and  full  of  vitality,  and 
amply  qualified  to  fill  his  responsible  position.  He  was  born 
in  Cohocton,  where  he  still  resides,  on  the  5th  of  April, 
1828.  Educated  mainly  in  the  common  schools,  and  being  a 
man  of  keen  powers  of  observation,  he  is  well  informed  upon 
all  subjects  which  would  naturally  engage  the  attention  of  the 
average  legislator.  He  commenced  his  business  life,  at  the 
age  of  18,  as  clerk  in  a  store,  and  going  into  business  for 
himself  in  the  course  of  time,  he  has  followed  mercantile 
pursuits  ever  since,  being  reasonably  successful. 

Always  a  straightforward  and  consistent  Democrat,  Mr. 
SHATTUCK  has  been  active  in  politics  since  his  youth.  Dur- 
ing the  Eebellion  he  was  prominent  as  a  War  Democrat, 
giving  his  active  co-operation  to  the  work  of  filling  the  mil- 
itary quotas  of  his  town  and  county.  During  his  career  in 
the  present  Assembly  he  has  shown  much  independence  of 
party  dictation,  being  especially  rebelliously  inclined  toward 
the  demands  of  Tammany  upon  the  rural  members.  When 


280  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

the  famous  "Costigan  bill"  was  under  discussion,  he 
made  one  or  two  speeches  which  drew  upon  him  the 
hostility  of  the  party  leaders  on  the  floor,  and  at- 
tracted wide  attention  throughout  the  State.  He  has  held 
several  town  offices,  and  during  a  period  of  five  years  was  a 
member  of  the  Steuben  county  Board  of  Supervisors.  He 
was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1873  by  a  majority  of  455 
over  CHARLES  K.  MINOR,  his  Republican  opponent,  and  re- 
elected  last  fall  by  648  majority  over  HENRY  SCHLY,  Repub- 
lican. This  year  he  is  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Banks 
and  Internal  Affairs,  and  last  year  was  on  Banks  and  Sub- 
Committee  of  the  Whole.  He  is  a  Universalist  in  religious 
belief,  and  possesses  many  of  those  traits  of  character  which 
win  popularity  and  respect. 


KICHAED  U.  SHERMAN. 


RICHARD  U.  SHERMAN,  the  member  from  the  First  district 
of  Oneida  county,  is  a  native  of  that  county.  He  was  born 
in  1819,  and  was  educated  for  a  merchant ;  but  on  arriving 
at  the  age  of  manhood  he  adopted  journalism  as  a  profession, 
which  he  followed  till  1851,  when  he  was  elected  Clerk  of 
the  'Assembly.  While  in  that  position  he  prepared  the 
Clerk's  Manual,  which  is  considered  an  indispensable  guide 
in  legislative  proceedings.  He  held  the  position  five  years, 
and  was  then  elected  Member-  of  the  Assembly  of  1857,  in 
which  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Sub-Committee  of  the  Whole 
and  of  the  Special  Committee  of  Suffrage,  and  member  of 
Ways  and  Means  and  Commerce  and  Navigation.  After 
serving  one  year  he  was  nominated  for  the  Senate,  but 
declined.  In  1860,  he  was  appointed  an  Assistant  Clerk  of 
the  House  of  Representatives.  He  served  ten  years,  when  he 
voluntarily  resigned  on  account  of  pressing  trust  duties  at 
home.  In  1867,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Constitu- 


RICHARD  U.  SHERMAN.  281 

tional  Convention  of  this  State.  In  that  body  he  was  con- 
spicuous for  his  efforts  to  correct  the  evils  of  special  legisla- 
tion, which  had  been  brought  prominently  to  his  notice 
during  his  long  public  service. 

Mr.  SHERMAN  has  been  engaged  actively  in  politics  for  the 
last  thirty  years,  and  his  skill  as  a  party  organizer  has  given 
him  much  prominence.  He  commenced  political  life  as  a 
Whig,  and  when  the  organization  under  that  name  ceased 
to  exist,  he  became  a  Republican.  In  1872,  he  joined  the 
revolt  of  the  Liberals,  and  was  the  candidate  for  Congress 
of  the  Democratic  and  Liberal  alliance  in  the  Oneida  district. 
Since  that  time  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  was  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  present  Assem- 
bly. He  has  held  many  official  trusts  in  his  native  county, 
and  is  practically  familiar  with  nearly  every  class  of  public 
business,  being,  in  turn,  Alderman,  Supervisor,  Brigadier- 
General  of  the  National  Guard,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
President  of  the  village  of  New  Hartford.  This  experience, 
together  with  his  natural  executive  ability,  renders  him  a 
valuable  member.  He  is  not  a  debater ;  but  as  a  writer  is 
distinguished  for  terseness,  elegance  and  force.  In  com- 
mittee duty  he  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  useful  mem- 
bers of  the  House.  He  is  chairman  of  the  Committees 
on  Rules  and  State  Prisons,  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
General  Laws,  and  of  the  Joint  Select  Committee  to  investi- 
gate Canal  affairs. 

Mr.  SHERMAN'S  name  was  prominently  mentioned  for 
the  Speakership  of  the  present  House,  an  office  for  which 
his  fitness  was  generally  recognized ;  but  as  this  seemed  to 
involve  an  antagonism  with  the  interests  of  his  friend  and 
neighbor,  Hon.  FRANCIS  KERNAN,  who  was  a  candidate 
for  United  States  Senator,  he  declined  to  press  a  canvass 
that  might  otherwise  have  been  successful. 

Mr.  SHERMAN'S  counsel  is  much  sought  by  the  new 
members  who  desire  advice  and  assistance  in  framing  and 
forwarding  their  measures.  He  is  affable,  friendly  and  unpre- 
36 


282  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

tending  —  qualities  which  make  him  warm  friends  every- 
where, and  have  given  him  at  home  a  popularity  which  no 
political  changes  seem  to  affect.  This  popularity  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  he  defeated  Mr.  CHADWICK,  the  Republican 
member  of  last  year,  by  a  majority  of  255,  overcoming  an 
adverse  majority  of  764,  the  district  at  the  same  time  giving 
Dix  -the  Republican  candidate  for  Governor,  a  majority. 


GEORGE  SHERWOOD. 


Mr.  SHERWOOD  was  born  at  McDonough  Springs,  Chenango 
county,  January  18,  1820.  His  grandfather,  on  his  father's 
side,  was  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  served  during 
the  seven  years.  His  mother's  father  was  Rev.  DAVID  BUD- 
LONG,  a  pioneer  Baptist  minister  in  Oneida  county.  His 
advantages  for  acquiring  an  education  were  limited,  and 
consisted  of  very  irregular  attendance  at  a  country  common 
school,  as  such  schools  were  thirty  years  ago.  But  notwith- 
standing his  early  disadvantages,  he  has  absorbed,  from  much 
reading,  a  practical  education,  and  acquired  a  good  under- 
standing of  the  world,  if  not  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics. 

He  has  always  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  and 
now  owns  and  resides  upon  a  farm  a  short  distance  from 
Binghamton,  and  overlooking  the  city.  His  wife,  whom  he 
married  twenty-five  years  ago,  is  a  daughter  of  ALLEST  C. 
JEFFORDS,  a  surveyor,  and  a  citizen  somewhat  prominent  in 
the  northern  part  of  Broome  county.  In  personal  appear- 
ance, Mr.  SHERWOOD  indicates  that  he  is  a  laboring  man  in 
his  occupation,  and  not  in  any  sense  a  "  fancy  farmer."  He 
is  of  medium  height,  somewhat  stout,  black,  bushy  hair  and 
beard  sprinkled  with  gray,  piercing  black  eyes  and  well- 
marked  features,  which  are  unmistakable  evidences  of 
firmness. 

Following,  perhaps,   the  predilections  of  his  mother,  he 
early  united  with  the  Baptist  Church,  and  has  since  been  a 


GEORGE  SHERWOOD.  283 

communicant,  although  from  settled  convictions  he  has  for 
several  years  refused  to  taste  fermented  wine  at  communion. 
For  a  time  his  refusal  to  touch  the  wine  used  in  his  church 
was  regarded  as  a  tentative,  and  was  the  subject  of  severe 
criticism.  He  was  denounced  as  a  "  one-idea  man ;"  but  his 
"one  idea"  was  finally  acknowledged  to  be  singleness  of  pur- 
pose, and  now  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  LYMAIST  WEIGHT,  D.  D., 
and  a  large  portion  of  his  congregation  are  fully  in  accord 
with  Mr.  SHERWOOD  on  the  subject  of  communion  wine. 

As  might  be  supposed  from  his  views  upon-  the  sacrament, 
Mr.  SHERWOOD  is  a  zealous  temperance  man.  He  has  given 
much  time  to  the  cause,  in  lecturing,  speaking  and  working 
for  it.  He  holds  no  association  more  precious  than  the 
church,  but  the  church  usages,  when  they  conflict  with  his 
views  on  temperance,  must  submit  to  a  modification,  or  he 
dissents.  It  is  so  in  politics  and  all  things  else.  He  was 
prominent  in  the  Maine  law  movement  in  this  State,  and  was 
a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  nominated  Hon.  MYRON" 
H.  CLARK  for  Governor  in  1854.  His  political  antecedents  had 
been  with  the  original  abolitionists,  when  to  advocate 
the  universal  manumission  of  slaves  required  more  nerve 
than  it  did  subsequently  to  take  up  a  musket  and 
march  with  the  "three  hundred  thousand  more"  to  put 
down  the  slavery  rebellion.  So  few  were  the  abolition  voters 
in  his  section  that  tickets  were  not  distributed  to  them,  and 
Mr.  SHERWOOD  frequently  voted  a  ticket  cut  from  a  news- 
paper, or  copied  the  names  from  posters.  Still  he  voted, 
although  nearly  alone,  for  the  abolitionists'  principles,  rather 
than  for  men,  until  the  Republican  party  organized,  in  1856, 
to  vote  with  him.  Since  the  Republican  party  has  existed 
he  has  been  one  of  its  most  ardent  supporters. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  SHERWOOD  has  been  elected  to  office, 
he  was  never  an  aspirant  for  political  position.  In  1870  he 
was  chosen  to  represent  his  town  —  that  of  Binghamton  —  in 
the  Board  of  Supervisors.  The  campaign  in  1873,  that 
resulted  in  his  election  to  the  Assembly,  had  features  of 


284  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

peculiar  interest.  His  nomination  was  unsought  and  unex- 
pected, and  almost  without  his  knowledge  that  his  name  was 
to  be  presented  to  the  convention.  In  a  speech  accepting 
the  nomination,  he  said  that  his  motto  was  "  Purity  and 
Righteousness."  The  motto  was  acceptable  to  the  Republi- 
cans of  Broome,  and  Mr.  SHERWOOD  received  3,909  votes.  His 
opponent  was  J.  STEWART  WELLS,  a  wealthy  manufacturer. 
The  Democrats  made  a  special  effort  to  elect  Mr.  WELLS,  by 
concentrating  their  votes,  means  and  tactics  upon  him.  He 
received  3,364  votes.  Last  fall  Mr.  SHERWOOD  was  re-elected 
by  the  increased  majority  of  725,  his  opponent  being  BENJA- 
MIN S.  CTJRRAN,  Democrat.  This  indicates  that  the  people 
approve  his  course  as  a  legislator. 

Mr.  SHERWOOD'S  career  in  the  Assembly  thus  far  has  shown 
that  he  is  faithfully  endeavoring  to  act  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  embodied  in  his  striking  motto.  His  voice 
and  his  vote  are  invariably  given  upon  the  side  of  purity  and 
righteousness,  and  his  speeches,  made  in  the  interest  of  econ- 
omy in  the  expenditure  of  the  people's  money,  have  attracted 
wide  attention.  His  oratorical  efforts  are  quaintly  original 
in  their  style,  and  the  language  is  the  strongest  Anglo- 
Saxon,  put  with  almost  startling  directness.  He  uses  expres- 
sions, sometimes,  which  sound  strangely,  but  no  one  can 
gainsay  the  truth  of  what  he  says,  or  withstand  the  force  of 
his  honest  logic.  He  holds  what  now-a-days  would  be  deemed 
old-fashioned  views,  but  it  would  be  vastly  better  for  the 
country  were  such  views  more  widely  current  among  our 
public  men. 


DENNIS  R.  SHIEL.  285 


DENNIS  R.  SHIEL. 


Mr.  SHIEL  is  the  son  of  PETER  SHIEL,  a  well-known  citi- 
zen of  Auburn,  having  resided  there  since  his  emigration 
from  Ireland,  in  1839.  He  was  born  in  Auburn,  June  23, 
1841,  and  was  educated  at  St.  John's  College,  Fordham, 
graduating  in  the  class  of  1865.  Deciding  to  adopt  the 
legal  profession,  he  studied  law  with  MICHAEL  S.  MYERS  & 
JOHN  T.  PINGRU,  and  in  1869  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  in 
Kochester.  Soon  thereafter  he  removed  to  Fordham,  West- 
chester  county,  where  he  has  since  resided,  practicing  his 
profession  with  good  success. 

Mr.  SHIEL  served  honorably  in  the  Union  Army  during 
the  war.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Nineteenth  New 
York  Volunteers  immediately  after  the  storming  of  Fort 
Su  niter,  and  was  subsequently  promoted  to  the  grade  of 
quartermaster-sergeant.  He  always  retained  the  good  opin- 
ion of  both  officers  and  men,  and  performed  his  duties  faith- 
fully and  satisfactorily. 

Mr.  SHIEL  has  always  been  a  straightforward  member  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  has  usually  made  himself  very 
active  in  local  politics.  The  only  office  he  has  held,  how- 
ever, is  that  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  to  which  he  was  twice 
elected,  in  the  town  of  "West  Farms  (now  Twenty-fourth 
ward  of  New  York).  He  has  yet  one  year  to  serve  in  that 
capacity.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  plurality 
of  1,338,  EZEKIEL  Y.  BELL,  Republican,  and  GEORGE  F. 
TREMPER,  Temperance,  being  his  opponents. 

He  is  an  able  and  prominent  member  of  the  House,  serv- 
ing acceptably  as  member  of  Judiciary  and  State  Prisons 
and  Chairman  of  Joint  Library.  He  does  not  frequently 
address  the  House ;  but  when  he  does,  he,  clothes  his  ideas 
in  well-chosen  language,  and  is  able  to  make  a  graceful  and 


286  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

eloquent  speech.  He  is  popular  among  the  members  of  both 
sides  of  the  House,  always  pleasant  and  courteous  in  his 
intercourse  with  his  fellows.  In  religious  belief  he  is  a 
Koman  Catholic,  and  is  a  thorough  adherent  of  the  church. 


BERNARD  SILVERMAK 


Mr.  SILVERMAN  is  an  able  member  of  the  Brooklyn  dele- 
gation, representing  the  Eighth  district,  and  residing  at 
Greenpoint.  He  was  born  in  New  York  city,  August  30, 
1838.  His  parents  were  natives  of  Bavaria,  Germany,  and 
came  to  this  country  in  1837,  marrying  after  their  arrival. 
Mr.  S.  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  also  at  Brook- 
lyn City  Institute.  During  most  of  the  time  since  reaching 
his  majority  he  has  followed  the  occupation  of  bookkeeper. 
He  has  always  acted  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  and 
has  been  quite  prominent  in  its  counsels,  possessing  a  good 
deal  of  influence  in  his  district,  in  which  he  has  resided  for 
the  past  eight  years.  He  was  also  prominent  in  New  York 
politics  for  several  years.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  last 
Democratic  State  Convention  at  Syracuse,  and  has  also  been 
a  member  of  several  local  and  county  conventions  of  his 
party.  In  1873  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  Assembly  nomi- 
nation, but  was  defeated  by  F.  W.  KALBFLEISCH,  who  was 
defeated  at  the  election  by  GEORGE  C.  BENNETT,  the  Eepubli- 
can  candidate.  Last  fall  he  was  more  successful,  securing 
his  election  by  a  plurality  of  1,219,  defeating  both  the  Repub- 
lican and  Prohibition  nominees. 

He  serves  on  the  Committees  on  Commerce  and  Naviga- 
tion, and  Banks,  and  is  a  quiet,  modest  and  exceedingly  able 
member. 


PETER  SLINGERLAND.  287 


PETER  SLINGERLAND. 


Mr.  SLIKGERLAND,  of  the  First  district  of  Albany  county, 
is  a  prosperous  farmer  of  New  Scotland.  He  has  always 
been  quite  active  in  politics,  but  has  never  before  held  office, 
though  nominations  have  been  frequently  tendered  by  his 
party  friends,  and  invariably  declined.  He  has  nevertheless 
performed  efficient  service  for  the  party,  having  been  for 
many  years  a  worker  at  the  polls,  and  ever  ready  to  aid,  both 
with  money  and  personal  efforts,  the  election  of  Eepublican 
candidates.  He  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  formation 
of  the  party,  and  previously  acted  with  the  Whigs. 

Mr.  SLINGERLAND  was  born  September  20,  1829,  in  the 
town  of  New  Scotland,  and  still  resides  there,  on  a  portion  of 
the  tract  of  land  purchased  of  the  Indians  by  his  great  grand- 
father, TEUXIS  SLISTGERLAND.  His  father,  MAUS  SLINGER- 
LAND,  is  still  living  in  New  Scotland  at  an  advanced  age. 
The  land  owned  by  the  family  has  by  careful  and  thorough 
management  become  very  valuable,  and  affords  its  occupants 
a  handsome  income. 

Mr.  SLINGERLAND'S  education  was  obtained  chiefly  in  the 
common-schools,  and  at  Coxsackie  Academy.  He  is,  how- 
ever, a  man  of  much  natural  ability  and  shrewdness,  and  is 
capable  of  filling  almost  any  position  in  life  which  calls  for 
the  exercise  of  good  judgment  and  practical  common  sense. 
He  was  married  at  Albany  on  the  13th  of  June,  1 849,  to 
RACHEL  ANN'  MOSHEK,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church,  of  which  his  ancestors  for  several  generations  have 
been  faithful  and  earnest  supporters. 

During  the  war  Mr.  SLINGERLAND  was  very  active  in  rais- 
ing funds  for  the  benefit  of  drafted  men.  Finally  he  vol- 
untarily procured  a  substitute,  who  represented  him  in  the 


288  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

army.     He  was  then  and  has  ever  since  been  a  firm  suppor- 
ter of  the  Administration. 

Mr.  SLIKGEKLAND'S  seat  in  the  House  is  seldom  vacant 
during  the  sessions.  He  is  not  conspicuous  in  debate,  but 
is  well  posted  in  the  routine  of  legislation  and  represents 
his  district  effectively  and  intelligently.  Socially,  he  is  a 
favorite  with  all  the  members,  being  extremely  pleasant  and 
agreeable  in  his  intercourse  with  others. 


JOHN  W.  SMITH. 


As  is  the  case  with  quite  a  number  of  the  members  of  the 
present  Assembly,  Mr.  SMITH  is  holding  his  first  elective 
office.  He  represents  the  Twenty-First  district  of  New 
York  city,  and  is  a  man  of  modest  and  unassuming  deport- 
ment, but  possessing  many  qualities  which  render  him  a 
valuable  legislator.  He  is  always  at  his  post  in  the  House, 
and  bids  fair  to  so  continue  to  the  eud  of  the  session,  as  the 
ruddy  and  healthful  hue  of  his  complexion  indicates  that 
there  is  sufficient  vitality  in  his  constitution  to  withstand 
the  mephitic  atmosphere  of  the  chamber. 

He  was  born  in  New  York  city,  on  the  17th  of  February, 
1839,  and  obtained  a  good  education  in  the  public  schools 
and  also  in  St.  Stephen's  Parochial  school.  He  commenced 
life  as  a  conductor  on  the  Second  Avenue  Eailroad,  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  has  since  occupied  every  position  in 
the  service  of  the  company  up  to  superintendent,  which 
office  he  has  filled  for  seven  years  past.  This  fact  speaks 
volumes  for  his  efficiency  and  faithful  performance  of  duty. 
He  has  always  been  an  active  Democrat,  being  identified 
with  the  Apollo  Hall  wing  of  the  party  until  the  reform  of 
the  Tammany  organization,  since  which  he  has  been  a  Tarn- 


ORRIN  T.  STACY.  289 

many  Hall  man.  He  was  elected  last  fall  by  the  largest 
majority  ever  given  to  a  candidate  in  the  district,  though 
two  Democrats  and  one  Republican  were  against  him,  his 
plurality  being  1,550. 

Mr.  SMITH  was  married  on  the  8th  of  October,  1860,  to 
Miss  ANITA  RABADAN,  of  New  York.  He  is  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  in  all  respects 
is  an  estimable  and  worthy  citizen. 


ORRIN  T.  STACY. 


Among  the  more  prominent  of  the  Republican  members 
of  the  Assembly,  we  may  fairly  rank  Dr.  ORRIN"  T.  STACY, 
of  Allegany  county.  He  does  not  frequently  favor  the  House 
with  speeches,  but,  when  he  does,  he  invariably  commands 
attention,  for  he  possesses  a  very  engaging  style  of  delivery. 
His  eloquence  is  not  of  the  soaring  kind,  but  his  speeches 
are  plain  and  practical,  couched  in  well  chosen  language, 
expressed  with  ease  and  grace.  He  is  blessed  with  a  fine 
physical  development  and  exuberant  health,  and  being  a 
gentleman  of  thorough  culture  and  correct  principles,  he 
constitutes  a  legislative  character  pleasant  to  contemplate. 
There  are  few  members  of  the  present  House,  more  thor- 
oughly qualified  for  the  duties  devolving  upon  the  law- 
maker, than  Dr.  STACY. 

He  was  born  in  Centerville,  in  this  State,  November  5th, 
1835.  His  father,  WILLIAM  A.  STACY,  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, but  removed  to  Allegany  county  in  1824,  and  followed 
the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  during  a  period  of  forty 
years.  He  died  in  1867.  The  son,  the  present  member, 
received  a  thorough  academic  and  collegiate  education, 
graduating  from  the  Buffalo  Medical  College  in  March, 
37 


290 

1860.  Since  that  year  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  medicine.  On  June  25,  1862,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
ANTOINETTE  KENDALL.  In  1863.  in  addition  to  his  medical 
practice,  he  became  interested  in  a  dry  goods  store  and  also 
in  a  drug  establishment,  and  in  both  a  business  and  profes- 
sional sense  he  has  been  successful,  so  successful,  in  fact, 
that »he  is  now  enabled  to  give  the  public  the  benefit  of  his 
talents  in  the  field  of  statesmanship. 

In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  an  active 
and  energetic  one.  He  cast  his  first  vote  for  FREMONT  in 
1856,  and  since  then  has  never  swerved  in  his  allegiance  to 
the  party  of  his  choice.  His  present  position,  however,  is 
the  first  political  office  he  has  held,  and  we  may  safely 
venture  the  prediction  that  it  will  not  be  the  last,  as  he 
shows  unquestionable  aptitude  for  public  life.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly,  in  1873,  by  a  majority  of  1,347,  his 
Democratic  opponent  being  0.  T.  HIGGINS,  and  re-elected 
last  fall  by  a  majority  of  1,595  over  ITTAI  J.  ELLIOTT,  Demo- 
crat. Last  year  he  served  on  the  Committees  on  Public 
Education,  Public  Health  and  Sub-committee  of  the  Whole, 
and  this  year  he  is  on  Eailroads. 


GEORGE  A.  STAUF. 


Mr.  STAUF  comes  from  the  Eighth  District  of  New  York 
city,  and  is  one  of  the  most  active  and  popular  members  of  the 
metropolitan  delegation.  He  also  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
being  the  youngest  member  of  the  present  House.  He  is  a 
whole-souled,  genial  gentleman,  liberal  to  a  fault,  and  a 
favorite  with  all  who  possess  his  acquaintance  or  friendship. 
He  is  of  German  ancestry,  his  father  being  Col.  ANDREW 
STAUF,  the  well-known  brewer  of  122  Delancey  street. 


STEPHEN  D.  STEPHENS,  JR.  291 

The  latter  served  in  the  late  rebellion,  has  been  a  member 
of  the  National  Guard  since  1850,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  past  has  commanded  the  96th  Regiment.  Both  parents 
are  still  living. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  New  York  city  on 
the  18th  of  June,  1849,  and  obtained  his  education  mainly 
in  the  public  schools.  He,  however,  qualified  himself  for  a 
legal  career,  and  is  now  practicing  law  with  a  good  degree  of 
success.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  actively  interested  him- 
self in  politics,  being  known  as  one  of  the  most  active  young 
Democrats  in  his  ward.  In  1872  he  was  a  candidate  for 
Alderman,  but  was  defeated  by  JOHN  THEIS  by  117  majority. 
In  the  late  canvass  he  had  three  opponents,  SOLON  B.  SMITH, 
Republican,  who  represented  the  district  in  1872,  and  JOHN" 
THEIS  and  ALBERT  ELDRIDGE,  both  of  the  latter  being 
Democrats.  He  received  a  plurality  of  900,  and  is  the  first 
Democrat  elected  from  the  district  in  four  years. 

Mr.  STAUF  is  unmarried,  but  at  his  age  it  is  not  safe  to 
predict  that  he  will  long  remain  in  ,  that  condition.  He 
serves  capably  upon  the  Committees  on  Internal  Aflairs  and 
Indian  Affairs. 


STEPHEN  D.  STEPHENS,  JR. 


Mr.  STEPHENS  is  an  active  and  energetic  young  man, 
under  thirty  years  of  age,  and  represents  the  Democratic 
county  of  Richmond  for  the  second  time.  He  is  a  finely 
educated  gentleman,  a  good  public  speaker,  and  owing  to  his 
industrious  habits  and  executive  ability,  is  exceedingly  val- 
uable in  the  details  of  legislation  and  committee  work.  He 
was  born  in  Richmond,  Staten  Island,  where  he  still  resides, 
April  19,  1845.  His  father  and  paternal  ancestors,  three 
generations  back,  were  born  in  New  York  city,  his  ancestors 


292  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

on  his  mother's  side  being  natives  of  Staten  Island.  Both 
his  grandfathers,  paternal  and  maternal,  served  in  the  war 
of  1812,  while  their  fathers  distinguished  themselves  in 
active  service  during  the  war  of  the  revolution.  Mr. 
STEPHENS  pursued  his  preparatory  studies  at  Trinity  School, 
New  York  city,  subsequently  passed  with  honor  through  the 
several  departments  of  Columbia  College,  and  in  1866  he 
graduated  from  that  institution  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  Columbia  College 
Law  School,  and  in  1868  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Laws.  In  the  following  year  he  received  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  the  law,  and  is  meeting  with  such  success  as  to 
indicate  that  the  future  has  many  honors  in  store  for  him. 

In  politics,  Mr.  STEPHENS  is  a  Democrat,  and  during 
a  number  of  years  he  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the 
ranks  of  his  party.  He  has  never  before  held  a  public 
position,  however.  He  was  a  member  last  year  of  the 
important  Committee  on  Eailroads,  and  also  that  of  Vil- 
lages. This  year  he  is  Chairman  of  Villages,  and  member 
of  Kailroads  and  Public  Lands.  He  was  brought  up  in  the 
Episcopal  denomination,  of  which  he  is  still  a  member,  and 
is  unmarried. 


HANFORD  STRUBLE. 


Mr.  STKTJBLE  is  an  able  and  prominent  lawyer  of  Yates 
county,  and  a  young  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability. 
He  is  also  a  gentlemen  of  fine  presence,  and  few  would  meet 
him  casually  without  bestowing  upon  him  an  involuntary 
second  glance.  Physically,  he  is  a  fine  specimen  of  man- 
hood. Deep-set  and  piercing  black  eyes,  an  ample  mous- 
tache and  a  wealth  of  flowing  black  hair,  serve  to  adorn  a 


HANFORD  STRUBLE.  293 

remarkably  well-shaped  head,  every  characteristic  of  which 
denotes  force  of  character  and  a  high  degree  of  intellectual 
power.  As  an  orator,  Mr.  STKUBLE  has  few,  if  any,  superiors 
on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly.  To  a  deliberate  and  impres- 
sive^ style  of  delivery  and  a  happy  facility  in  the  choice  of 
language  is  united  a  deep  and  musical  voice,  whose  tones 
penetrate  every  corner  of  the  chamber,  enabling  him  to  com- 
mand the  attention  of  all  within  hearing.  He  does  not 
often  address  the  House,  but  when  he  does,  his  words  are 
worthy  of  attention. 

Mr.  STRUBLE  was  born  in  Milo,  Yates  county,  on  the  14th 
of  May,  1842.  He  received  his  preliminary  education  in 
Starkey  seminary  from  1853  to  1857.  Afterward  he  entered 
Genesee  college,  from  which  he  graduated  with  honor  in 
the  class  of  1861.  For  some  time  subsequently  he  followed 
teaching,  being,  in  1861  and  1862,  principal  of  Dundee 
academy.  After  the  war  closed  he  studied  law,  and  in  1867 
received  a  diploma  from  the  Albany  Law  school,  and  was 
duly  admitted  to  the  bar.  From  that  time  to  the  present, 
he  has  practiced  the  legal  profession  with  a  good  degree  of 
success. 

In  September,  1862,  he  entered  the  army  as  first  lieuten- 
ant of  company  B,  148th  New  York  Volunteers.  Early  in 

1 863,  he  was  appointed  on  the  staff  of  General  EGBERT  VIELE, 
and  for  nearly  a  year  subsequently,  he  was  Provost  Marshal 
of  Portsmouth,  Va.    He  then  served  with  honor  on  the  staffs, 
successively,  of  Generals  WILD,  POTTER  and  VOGDES,  and  so 
highly  was  he  regarded  by  his  superiors,  that  in  January, 

1864,  he  received  from  Secretary  STANTON  an  appointment 
as  permanent  Aid  on  the  staff  of  General  GEO.  F.  SHEPLEY. 
In  February  of  the  following  year  he  was  assigned  to  duty 
before  Eichmond,  under  General  WEITZEL,  and  he  entered 
that  city  with  the  victorious  army  on  the  3d  of  April  ensuing. 
At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  held  the  rank  of  brevet-major, 
and  he  received  his  honorable  discharge  from  the  service  in 
July,  1865.     Major  STRUBLE  performed  long  and  arduous 


294  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

service  for  the  Union  cause  during  the  war,  and  his  record 
as  a  soldier  is  without  a  blot. 

Politically,  Mr.  STRUBLE  has  always  been  fully  identified 
with  the  Eepublican  party,  and  his  activity  and  zeal  have 
been  of  great  advantage  to  the  Republicans  of  Yates  county. 
He  is  recognized  as  occupying  a  leading  position,  and  his 
counsel  is  sought  by  men  much  older  in  politics  than  him- 
self. During  two  terms  he  has  held  the  office  of  District- 
Attorney  of  Yates  county,  being  elected  in  1868  and  1871, 
and  he  discharged  the-  duties  of  the  office  with  signal 
ability.  He  is  making  an  excellent  record  during  the  pres- 
ent session  of  the  Assembly,  and,  though  in  the  minority,  he 
is  influential  in  shaping  much  important  legislation.  Early 
in  the  session  he  attracted  attention  by  introducing  a  pro 
rata  freight  bill,  and  he  has  been  quite  persistent  in  his 
efforts  to  secure  its  passage,  despite  adverse  influence.  He 
is  a  wide-awake  minority  member  of  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee, and  because  of  his  agreeable  personal  traits,  is  very 
popular  among  members  of  both  parties. 


TUNIS  V.  P.  TALMAGE. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  represents  the  Fourth 
District  of  Kings  county,  is  a  very  popular  Democrat  of 
Brooklyn,  and  a  man  who  has  long  been  identified  with  the 
prosperity  of  the  city.  He  is  not  much  given  to  words,  but 
is  a  plain  practical  man  of  business,  and  bears  an  unblemished 
character. 

TUNIS  VAN  PELT  TALMAGE  "was  born  in  New  York  city 
on  the  24th  of  July,  1832.  His  father  shortly  after  removed 
to  Brooklyn,  and  afterward  became  mayor  of  that  city.  His 
uncle,  JACOB  MILLER,  represented  New  Jersey  in  the  United 


TUNIS  V.  P.  TALMAGE.  295 

States  Senate  during  a  period  of  sixteen  years.  Mr.  TAL- 
MAGE was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  also  in  the 
New  Brunswick  (N.  J.)  Grammar  School.  On  reaching 
manhood  he  embraced  a  business  life,  and  for  twenty  years 
he  was  a  successful  coal  merchant.  He  is  still  in  that  busi- 
ness, but  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  is  devoted  to  real 
estate  operations.  He  has  taken  a  warm  interest  in  the 
improvement  and  growth  of  Brooklyn,  and  every  enter- 
prise having  that  object  in  view  receives  his  encouragement 
and  often  his  active  co-operation.  He  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nators of  Brooklyn's  picturesque  pleasure  ground,  Prospect 
Park,  and  was  one  of  the  building  committee  of  the  Kings 
County  Court  House. 

Mr.  TALMAGE  has  been  all  his  life  an  active  Democrat, 
but  has  not  frequently  held  office,  probably  possessing  very 
little  ambition  in  that  direction.  From  1860  to  1862,  how- 
ever, he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  dur- 
ing the  years  1863  and  1864  he  was  President  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen.  In  both  positions  he  gave  great  satisfaction  to 
his  friends,  and  materially  augmented  his  growing  popularity. 
In  1865  he  was  a  candidate  for  mayor  of  the  city  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  late  MARTIN  KALBFLEISCH,  who  defeated  him 
by  one  vote.  In  the  recent  canvass  he  ran  some  seven  hun- 
dred votes  ahead  of  Governor  TILDEN,  and  was  elected  by 
2,208  majority  over  JOHN*  F.  CLTKE,  Eepubiican,  the  major- 
ity being  the  largest  ever  given  in  the  district.  He  is  repre- 
senting his  district  faithfully,  being  instrumental  in  initiating 
much  important  legislation  for  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

He  occupies  an  important  position  on  the  committees, 
being  chairman  of  Engrossed  Bills  and  member  of  Ways  and 
Means  and  Insurance. 


296  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


GEORGE  TAYLOR. 


Mr.  TAYLOR  is  a  successful  Kochester  business  man,  well 
fitted  for  the  practical  duties  of  legislation.  He  capably 
represents  a  second  time  the  commercial  interests  of  that 
important  inland  city,  with  which  he  has  been  identified 
many  years.  He  was  born  in  Stoddard,  Cheshire  county,  N. 
H.,  November  26,  1832.  He  is  therefore  in  the  prime  of  a 
vigorous  and  finely-developed  manhood.  He  is  of  English 
descent,  his  ancestors  having  emigrated  to  this  country  about 
the  year  1700.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
Marlow  Academy  and  Tubbs'  Union  Academy,  at  Washing- 
ton, N.  H.  His  schooling  was  therefore  very  thorough, 
and  enables  him  to  be  well  armed,  at  all  points,  for  the  battle 
of  life. 

Mr.  TAYLOR  engaged  in  business  pursuits  very  soon  after 
reaching  his  majority,  and  by  dint  of  industry  and  persever- 
ance he  has  become  one  of  the  "solid  men"  of  Eochester. 
For  several  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  boots  and  shoes,  and  he  built  up  a  large  trade  in  that 
line  of  business.  A  few  years  ago,  however,  he  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  thermometers,  barometers  and  other 
meteorological  instruments,  and  to  this  he  mainly  devotes 
his  attention  at  present. 

Mr.  TAYLOR  was  born  and  educated  a  Democrat,  and 
nothing  has  ever  been  able  to  swerve  him  from  what  he 
regards  as  the  principles  of  that  party.  He  has  always,  since 
an  early  age,  taken  an  active  part  in  the  local  politics  of 
Rochester,  and  enjoys  the  confidence  of  his  party  in  an  unlim- 
ited degree.  The  proof  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that,  for 
several  years,  he  was  a  Member  of  the  Eochester  Board  of 
Aldermen,  and  during  one  year  was  President  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  and  also  in  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  to  the 


WILLIAM  F.  TAYLOR.  297 

Assembly  in  1873  by  the  large  majority  of  1,054,  the  Peo- 
ple's ticket  the  previous  year  receiving  a  majority  of  173, 
this  majority  being  increased  last  fall  to  1,427.  He  was 
opposed  in  his  first  canvass  by  JOHN  BOWEK,  a  well-known 
Republican,  and  in  his  second,  by  NEWELL  A.  STONE. 

Mr.  TAYLOR  obtrudes  himself  upon  public  notice  very 
little,  but  he  is  known  as  a  very  efficient  member  of  the 
Assembly. 


WILLIAM  F.  TAYLOR. 


Mr.  TAYLOR  is  a  representative  business  man  of  Rensselaer 
county,  and  is  now  in  the  Assembly  for  the  first  time.  He  was 
born  in  Berlin,  where  he  still  resides,  on  the  5th  of  October, 
1830.  He  was  educated  in  common  and  select  schools  in 
Berlin  and  also  in  Jefferson  county.  On  reaching  manhood 
he  had  very  little  capital  beside  ample  capacity  and  an  ener- 
getic, ambitious  spirit,  but  he  gradually  established  himself 
in  business,  both  manufacturing  and  mercantile,  in  which 
he  has  been  quite  successful.  At  the  present  time  he  is 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shirts,  and  also  operates  quite 
extensively  in  real  estate.  As  may  be  well  supposed  he  has 
aided  greatly  the  growth  of  the  town,  and  is  therefore  to-day 
one  of  its  most  influental  citizens. 

Previous  to  1860,  Mr.  TAYLOR  was  a  Democrat,  but  as  was 
the  case  with  a  good  many  others  of  that  ilk,  the  issues 
of  the  war  and  the  slavery  question  impelled  him  to 
act  with  the  Republicans,  and  since  that  year,  when  he  voted 
for  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  he  has  been  a  steadfast  member 
of  the  Republican  organization  and  always  votes  for  its  can- 
didates. He  has  not  frequently  been  induced  to  accept  office, 
however.  Last  spring  he  was  elected  Supervisor  of  Berlin 

without  opposition,  and  was  the  second  Republican  Super- 
38 


298  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

visor  chosen  by  that  town  during  a  period  of  sixteen  years. 
The  nomination  for  the  Assembly  last  year  was  entirely 
unsought  on  his  part,  and  it  was  a  discouraging  fact  that  his 
opponent,  Mr.  PEEBLES,  was  in  every  respect  a  popular  and 
worthy  man.  He  went  into  the  fight  with  energy,  however, 
and  succeeded  in  increasing  the  Republican  majority  in  the 
district  by  160  votes.  In  his  own  town,  which  polled  525 
votes,  he  received  all  but  81,  a  fact  which  indicates  very  con- 
clusively the  estimate  in  which  he  is  held  at  home.  The  Troy 
Press,  a  Democratic  paper,  in  commenting  upon  the  result? 
shortly  after  the  election,  spoke  as  follows  of  the  canvass : 

"  Mr.  PEEBLES  made  a  gallant  fight,  but  he  had  a  strong 
opponent  in  the  person  of  Mr.  TAYLOR,  who  is  deservedly 
popular.  There  are  few  men  who  could  have  beaten  Mr. 
PEEBLES,  and  Mr.  T A YLOE  deserves  an  ovation  from  his  party 
for  doing  it."  • 

Mr.  TAYLOR  probably  thinks  that  the  votes  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  constitute  ovation  enough. 

He  is  doing  good  service  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  though 
he  displays  very  little  tendency  to  shine  as  an  orator,  and  will 
undoubtedly  make  an  excellent  record.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Committees  on  Militia  and  Public  Lands. 

Mr.  TAYLOR  has  just  been  re-elected  Supervisor  of  his  town 
without  opposition,  and  has  been  tendered  the  chairmanship 
of  the  Board.  He,  however,  declined  the  honor  in  favor  of  a 
personal  friend  in  the  district. 


SAMUEL  W.  TEWKSBURT.  299 


SAMUEL  W.  TEWKSBUKY. 


Wyoming  county  is  again  represented  by  SAMUEL  WIL- 
LARD  TEWKSBURY,  of  Perry  Centre,  he  having  served  his 
district  very  efficiently  last  year.  He  is  a  plain,  substantial 
farmer,  past  the  meridian  of  life,  and  though  he  has  fre- 
quently held  political  office,  he  maintains  the  character  of  a 
man  who  is  thoroughly  incorruptible  and  upright  in  all  his 
dealings.  He  was  born  in  York,  Livingston  county,  on  the 
23d  of  July,  1820,  and  is  of  New  England  parentage.  He 
received  his  education  partly  in  the  common  schools  and 
partly  in  Middleburgh  Academy,  which  he  attended  during 
the  years  1838  and  1839.  After  leaving  school  he  turned 
his  attention  to  teaching,  and  for  several  years  he  followed 
that  honorable  pursuit.  He  finally  purchased  the  farm  on 
which  he  now  resides,  and,  during  a  long  series  of  years,  he 
has  been  known  as  a  prosperous,  hard-working  agricultur- 
ist. 

Mr.  TEWKSBTTRY'S  first  political  lessons  were  learned  in 
the  Whig  party,  with  which  he  was  identified  until  1856. 
In  that  year  he  supported  FREMONT  for  President,  and  since 
then  he  has  been  a  straightforward,  conscientious  and  active 
Eepublican,  fully  in  sympathy  with  the  efforts  to  extirpate 
the  slave  power,  as  well  as  with  the  distinctive  principles  of 
the  Republican  party.  His  sterling  traits  of  character  have 
evidently  been  known  and  marked  by  his  neighbors  and  poli- 
tical friends,  as  he  has  frequently  been  called  upon  to  fill 
local  positions  of  responsibility.  During  a  period  of  eleven 
years  he  was  Town  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  five 
times  he  was  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  during  six 
years  he  represented  his  town  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors. 
In  the  important  Republican  State  Conventions,  held  in 
1868  and  1872,  he  was  a  delegate  from  Wyoming  county.  In 


300  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

all  these  positions  he  has  invariably  sought  to  perform  his 
duties  with  a  single  eye  to  the  public  good,  and  he  came  to 
the  Legislature,  and  will  leave  it,  with  a  record  that  is  not 
tarnished  in  any  way. 

In  the  canvass  of  1873,  he  was  chosen  over  EUSSELL  C. 
MORDOFF,  the  Democratic  candidate,  by  a  majority  of  640, 
a  decided  gain  over  the  Republican  majority  the  previous 
year.  In  1870,  the  Liberals  and  Democrats  carried  the 
county,  on  Member,  by  718  majority.  Last  fall  he  was  re- 
elected  by  a  majority  of  508,  over  S.  N.  HOPKINS,  Democrat. 
He  was  a  Member  last  year  of  the  Committees  on  Charitable 
and  Religious  Societies,  and  Agriculture,  and  is  on  the 
same  committees  this  year.  He  does  not  often  indulge  him- 
self in  speech-making,  but  in  other  and  more  effective  ways 
he  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  member. 


CHARLES  TREMAIN. 


Mr.  TREMAIN"  is  a  young  and  energetic  business  man  of 
Manlius,  Onondaga  county,  and  is  thoroughly  identified 
with  the  material  interests  of  that  thriving  town.  He  pos- 
sesses full  knowledge  of  the  varied  wants  of  his  constituents, 
and  has  the  ability,  sagacity  and  determination  necessary  to 
secure  for  his  locality  proper  recognition  at  Albany.  In 
addition  to  his  qualities  as  a  business  man,  Mr.  TREMAIN  is 
an  accomplished  gentleman,  with  agreeable  manners,  and 
possesses  every  qualification  necessary  to  make  him  success- 
ful and  influential  as  a  legislator. 

He  was  born  in  Fayetteville,  Onondaga  county,  on  the  23d 
of  April,  1843.  His  family  connections  are  all  of  the  high- 
est respectability,  and  some  of  his  relatives  have  risen  to 
high  position.  He  is  a  grandson  of  Judge  AUGUSTUS  TRE- 


COMMODORE  P.  VEDDER.  301 

,  who,  in  1818,  represented  Columbia  county  in  the 
Assembly,  and  who  won  deserved  eminence  for  his  legal 
attainments.  His  father,  the  late  Hon.  POETEK  TEEMAIN, 
was  also  an  eminent  and  esteemed  citizen. 

Mr.  TBEMAIN  received  a  good  academic  education,  and 
entered  business  life  at  an  early  age.  For  some  years  he  has 
been  engaged  in  the  manfacture  of  paper,  cement  and  plas- 
ter, and  has  large  business  connections  in  Syracuse  and  other 
cities.  He  stands  very  high  in  the  business  community,  and 
is  in  all  respects  a  man  to  be  trusted  and  relied  upon  in  any 
emergency.  His  popularity  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  from  a  Democratic  district,  in  a 
Democratic  year,  over  a  popular  Democratic  opponent,  who 
very  capably  represented  the  district  last  year.  He  received 
a  plurality  of  131,  two  candidates,  CHABLES  SIMON,  Demo- 
crat, and  D.  L.  SHEEWOOD,  Prohibition,  being  in  the  field. 


COMMODORE  P.  VEDDER. 


Few  members  of  the  present  Assembly  exert  a  more  com- 
manding influence  or  possess  greater  legislative  talent  than 
Mr.  VEDDEE.  He  is  known  throughout  the  State  as  an 
active,  earnest  and  independent  Kepublican,  who,  while 
unswerving  in  his  party  fealty,  is  nevertheless  incapable  of 
being  made  the  tool  of  cliques  or  rings.  He  is  a  man  of 
exceptionally  clear  views  of  public  interest  as  well  as  of 
party  policy,  while  his  convictions  regarding  all  questions 
are  the  result  of  careful  reflection  and  the  exercise  of  sound 
judgment.  When  once  formed  they  are  tenaciously  adhered 
to. 

Mr.  VEDDEE  is  the  son  of  American  parents,  his  father, 
JACOB  VEDDEE,  being  an  industrious  Cattaraugus  county 
farmer.  He  was  born  in  Ellicottville,  his  present  place  of 


302  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

residence,  on  the  23d  of  February,  1838.  Before  reaching 
man's  estate  he  spent  five  years  as  a  sailor  on  the  lakes.  He 
secured  a  good  education,  partially  in  the  common  schools, 
but  mainly  in  the  Spriugville  Academy,  which  he  entered  in 
his  twentieth  year.  Afterward  he  studied  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866.  In  1862,  after  teaching  school 
a  few  months,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  154th  regiment, 
New  York  Volunteers,  and  remained  with  the  regiment  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  participating  with  uniform  credit  to 
himself  in  the  battles  of  Chancellorville,  Wauhatchie, 
Lookout  Valley,  Lookout  Mountain,  Chattanooga,  Rocky- 
faced  Eidge,  Siege  of  Savannah,  and  Bentonville.  He  bore 
an  honorable  part  in  SHERMAN'S  celebrated  march  to 
Atlanta  and  the  sea,  and  for  his  gallant  conduct  in  that  cam- 
paign and  at  Lookout  Mountain  he  was  promoted  succes- 
sively to  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  Volunteers,  1st  Lieutenant, 
Captain  and  Brevet-Major,  U.  S.  A.  His  war  record  is 
therefore  something  to  be  proud  of. 

When  the  war  ended  Mr.  VEDDER  commenced  the  practice 
of  the  legal  profession,  in  which  he  has  continued  to  the 
present  time  with  marked  success.  In  1867  he  was  appointed 
Register  in  Bankruptcy,  and  still  holds  the  office.  He  was 
also  Assessor  of  Internal  Revenue  from.  May  10,  1869,  until 
May  4, 1871,  filling  the  office,  as  he  fills  every  position,  to 
the  satisfaction  of  every  one  interested.  In  the  fall  of  1871, 
he  was  elected  member  of  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  401, 
defeating  CHARLES  S.  GARY,  his  Democratic  competitor.  In 
1872  he  defeated  the  same  opponent  by  a  majority  of  688, 
after  a  very  sharp  canvass,  in  which  the  combined  strength 
of  the  Liberal  Republican  and  Democratic  elements  was 
brought  against  him,  and  herculean  efforts  made  to  defeat 
him.  Tn  1873  he  was  elected  over  WM.  F.  WEED,  by  a  major- 
ity of  386,  and  last  fall  his  majority  over  DANIEL  E.  BART- 
LETT  was  228. 

Mr.  VEDDER'S  course  in  the  Assembly  has  been  in  every 
way  creditable  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  In  1872  he 


COMMODORE  P.  VEDDER.  303 

served  on  the  Judiciary  Committee,  of  which  he  is  still  a  prom- 
inent member,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  investigation 
into  the  conduct  of  the  New  York  judges.  He  was  also 
chairman  of  the  committee  which  drew  up  the  articles  of 
impeachment  against  Judge  BARXARD,  and  was  one  of  the 
managers  selected  by  the  House  to  conduct  the  trial  of  that 
unworthy  wearer  of  the  ermine.  His  connection  with  these 
momentous  proceedings  aided  largely  in  developing  his  fine 
legal  talents,  and  added  greatly  to  his  reputation.  He  has 
been  prominently  identified  with  much  of  the  important  leg- 
islation of  the  last  two  sessions,  serving  on  several  commit- 
tees faithfully  and  well.  Besides  occupying  the  second  place 
on  the  Judiciary  Committee  in  the  last  session,  he  was  Chair- 
man of  Privileges  and  Elections,  and  Local  and  Special 
Laws,  and  being  in  the  minority  this  year  he  is  on  Judiciary 
and  Indian  Affairs,  with  no  chairmanship. 

As  an  orator  Mr.  VEDDER  has  few  equals.  Though  he 
always  speaks  extemporaneously,  and  often  without  prepara- 
tion, his  efforts  upon  the  floor  are  generally  models  of  com- 
pact symmetrical  argument.  He  clothes  his  ideas  in  direct 
and  forcible  yet  elegant  phraseology.  Sometimes  bold  almost 
to  audacity  in  his  utterances,  especially  when  discussing 
political  questions,  he  frequently  rises  to  heights  of  eloquence 
attained  by  few  public  speakers. 

Previous  to  the  war  Mr.  VEDDER  was  a  Democrat,  but  the 
reverberation  of  the  first  gun  at  Sumter  affected  him  much 
as  it  did  thousands  of  other  honest  Democrats  throughout 
the  State.  The  so-called  Democracy  was  effectually  elimi- 
nated from  his  political  constitution.  He  has  since  acted  con- 
sistently with  the  Eepublican  party,  and  is  popular  with  men 
of  all  parties,  as  his  personal  and  social  qualities  are  of  the 
most  genial  character.  Whether  we  regard  him  in  his  private 
or  public  life,  he  is  above  reproach,  and  is  in  all  respects  an 
honest,  able  and  efficient  legislator.  He  is  a  man  of  fine 
personal  appearance  and  unusually  pleasing  address,  and  evi- 
dently has  a  brilliant  career  yet  before  him. 


304  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


FRANCIS  W.  VOSBURGH. 


For  fifteen  years  past,  Mr.  VOSBUEGH  has  been  engaged  in 
the  transportation  business  on  the  Hudson,  being  at  the 
present  time  connected  with  the  Schuyler  Steam  Tow  Boat 
Line.  He  has  therefore  had  a  very  extensive  business  ex- 
perience, of  that  sort  which  greatly  adds  to  the  efficiency  of 
the  legislator.  His  father  was  for  many  years  a  farmer  at 
Kinderhook,  Columbia  county,  and  was  a  prominent  Demo- 
crat, in  1837  representing  his  district  in  the  Assembly ;  sub- 
sequently he  carried  on  business  in  New  York  as  a  wholesale 
commission  merchant.  Both  father  and  mother  died  very 
advanced  in  life — the  one  being  81  and  the  other  79  at  the 
time  of  their  decease. 

Mr.  VOSBUKGH — or  Capt.  VOSBURGH — as  he  is  known  in 
Albany,  was  born  in  Kinderhook,  on  the  llth  of  April,  1836, 
and  was  mainly  educated  in  the  Broadway  Grammar  School, 
in  New  York  city.  He  commenced  business  life  as  a  book- 
keeper in  that  city,  but  soon  after  reaching  his  majority  he 
removed  to  Albany,  where  he  married  the  daughter  of  Capt. 
SAMUEL  SCHUYLEK,  a  leading  citizen. 

Capt.  VOSBURGH  has  always  been  a  straightforward  and 
active  Democrat,  exceedingly  popular  among  all  classes,  and 
a  man  of  unexceptionable  character.  For  some  time  past, 
he  has  been  commander  of  the  Albany  Burgesses  Corps,  an 
organization  of  citizen  soldiery  which  has  a  national  reputa- 
tion and  embraces  in  its  ranks  many  of  the  best  citizens  of 
Albany.  Though  always  more  or  less  active  in  politics, 
Capt.  VOSBURGH  has  never  accepted  official  honors  until 
now,  and  considering  the  circumstances  of  his  election,  his 
success  may  be  regarded  as  a  marked  personal  triumph.  His 
opponents  were  Dr.  JOHN  SWINBURNE,  formerly  Health 
Officer  of  the  port  of  New  York,  nominated  by  the  Liberals 


Louis  C.  WAEHNER.  305 

and  what  is  locally  known  as  the  Meegan  wing  of  the 
Democracy,  and  HENRY  W.  DWIGHT,  a  very  popular  and 
well-known  Kepublican.  His  plurality,  after  a  very  hotly 
contested  canvass,  was  111.  Capt.  VOSBURQH  is  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Militia  and  Member  of  Ways  and 
Means  and  Commerce  and  Navigation,  thus  occupying  a 
very  influential  position  in  the  House.  He  has  proved  to  be 
an  able  legislator,  both  on  the  floor  and  in  the  Committee- 
room,  'and  attends  closely  to  his  duties. 


LOUIS  C.  WAEHNER. 


The  Tenth  district  of  New  York  city  is  represented  by  a 
brilliant  young  lawyer,  who,  since  his  advent  in  legislative 
halls,  has  taken  a  front  rank  in  point  of  ability  and  address. 
Louis  C.  WAEHNER  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  in 
1847.  He  is  therefore  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the 
present  House.  He  is  of  German  parentage,  both  his  par- 
ents being  still  living  and  residents  of  the  metropolis.  Mr. 
WAEHNER'S  education  was  obtained  almost  wholly  in  the 
public  schools  of  New  York  city,  and  it  is  apparent  that  the 
excellence  and  efficiency  of  those  institutions  can  scarcely  b« 
questioned  if  they  habitually  turn  out  such  scholars  as  the 
subject  of  our  sketch.  On  leaving  school,  he  studied  law 
for  a  time  with  STILLWELL  &  SWAIN,  of  New  York  city,  and 
about  six  years'  ago  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

Mr.  WAEHNER'S  political  career,  though  brief,  has  been 
brilliant.  He  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  very  decided 
in  his  convictions.  His  position  as  a  legislator  last  year  was 
the  first  office  he  had  held,  though  he  has  generally  been 
quite  active  in  political  campaigns,  and  in  the  fall  of  1872  he 
ran  as  an  independent  candidate  for  the  Assembly,  and  was 
defeated. 
39 


306  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

In  the  last  House  he  made  an  exceedingly  honorable  re- 
cord, his  legal  ability  being  so  well  demonstrated  that  he  was 
selected  without  opposition  as  the  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary 
Committee  of  the  present  House.  In  that  position  he  has 
acquitted  himself  well.  With  an  unbounded  earnestness  and 
driving  power,  he  is  an  indomitable  worker,  applying  him- 
self closely  to  all  matters  to  which  his  attention  has  been 
called,  irrespective  of  the  interests  to  be  affected.  He  has 
a  fine  and  rather  commanding  presence,  a  powerful  and  re- 
sonant voice,  and  a  good  delivery.  He  is  also  felicitous  in 
choice  of  language  while  on  the  floor,  and  there  are  not  a 
few  who  rank  him  among  the  best  orators  in  the  present  As- 
sembly. As  a  tactician  and  debater  he  is  clear-headed,  quick 
to  apprehend  the  gist  of  a  question,  direct  and  forcible,  com- 
ing at  once  to  the  real  point  at  issue.  In  manner  he  is 
suave,  off-hand,  genial,  and  has  a  dash  that  indicates  cour- 
age, promptitude,  great  energy  and  independence.  Thus  far 
Mr.  WAEHNEB'S  record  as  a  legislator  gives  promise  of  great 
future  usefulness  and  distinction  should  he  continue  in  pub- 
lic life. 


D.  GERRY  WELLINGTON. 


Mr.  WELLINGTON  is  a  straightforward  Eepublican,  and  a 
clear-headed  lawyer.  He  resides  in  Hamilton,  Madison 
county,  where  he  enjoys  a  lucrative  practice,  and  possesses 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  was 
corn  in  Cazenovia,  Madison  county,  on  the  8th  of  January, 
1838.  He  attended  the  Oneida  Conference  Seminary  at 
Cazenovia  until  1859,  where  he  graduated  with  honor.  He 
then  entered  Union  College,  and  passed  through  the  Sopho- 
more year,  finishing  his  studies  in  the  Albany  Law  School, 
from  whence  he  graduated  in  1861.  In  the  fall  of  that  year 
he  opened  a  law  office  at  Hamilton.  In  the  following  year, 


D.  GURRY  WELLINGTON.  307 

however,  his  patriotic  impulses  led  him  to  abandon  a  prac- 
tice which  had  already  grown  with  promising  rapidity,  and 
he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  176th  Regiment,  New  York 
Volunteers,  and  was  almost  immediately  elected  Captain  of 
Company  E.  His  modest  distrust  of  his  abilities  led  him  to 
decline  such  a  responsibility  at  the  outset  of  his  military 
career,  but  he  yielded  to  the  earnest  desire  of  the  company 
that  he  should  hold  a  leading  position  in  their  ranks,  and  he 
accepted  the  position  of  First  Lieutenant.  The  regiment 
w/nt  into  camp  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  and  remained 
there  until  January,  1863,  when  it  became  a  part  of  BANKS' 
expedition,  and  performed  arduous  service  in  Louisiana. 
Lieut.  WELLINGTON  was  taken  prisoner  at  Lafourche  cross- 
ing, on  the  23d  of  January,  1863,  and  taken  to  camp  at  Fort 
Tyler,  Texas.  There  he  was  kept  until  exchanged  in  the 
summer  of  1864,  after  being  a  prisoner  thirteen  months. 
In  August,  1864,  he  was  honorably  discharged  from  service. 
Mr.  WELLINGTON  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  gen- 
erally quite  active  in  local  politics.  In  1865  he  was  elected 
Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Hamilton,  without  opposition,  and 
held  the  office  two  years.  In  1868  he  was  a  member  of  As- 
sembly from  the  district  he  now  represents,  and  served  with 
marked  ability  on  the  Railroad  Committee.  He  was  elected 
last  fall  by  a  majority  of  1,389  over  CHAKLES  H.  MAXSON, 
his  Democratic  opponent,  the  Republican  majority  the  pre- 
vious year  being  but  928,  and  though  not  specially  favored 
by  the  majority  in  respect  to  committee  work,  he  is  doing 
good  service  for  his  constituency  on  the  floor  of  the  Assem- 
bly. Thus  far  he  has  repeated  the  very  excellent  record 
made  in  1868.  He  does  not  frequently  indulge  in  speeches, 
but  when  he  has  any  thing  to  say  he  presents  his  points  , 
clearly,  forcibly  and  effectively.  Mr.  WELLINGTON'S  ability 
as  a  lawyer,  his  business  qualities  and  sound  judgment,  and, 
not  least  in  importance,  his  habitual  courtesy  and  agreeable 
manners,  have  won  him  a  host  of  friends,  and  there  are  few 
more  popular  men  in  the  Assembly. 


308  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


ADOLPHUS  E.  WENZEL. 


Mr.  WENZEL  is  a  prominent  Democrat  of  Callicoon,  Sul- 
livan county.  He  is;of  German  descent,  and  was  born  in 
New  York  city,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1837.  His  early  life 
was  spent  in  the  metropolis  in  attendance  at  the  public 
schools,  though  his  education  was  largely  obtained  at  Cazen- 
ovia  seminary,  in  1855  and  1856.  He  learned  the  machinist's 
trade ;  but  for  sometime  past  he  has  been  successfully  en- 
gaged in  lumbering  and  in  the  management  of  an  extensive 
grist  and  saw  mill  at  Callicoon. 

Mr.  WENZEL'S  father  was  always  active  in  politics,  gener- 
ally acting  with  the  Democratic  party.  In  1867  the  son 
became  interested  in  political  matters,  and  has  actively 
co-operated  with  the  Democratic  party  ever  since.  Since 
the  spring  of  1872,  he  has  served  in  the  Sullivan  County 
Board  of  Supervisors,  being  re-elected  last  year  without 
opposition.  This  indicates  his  growing  popularity  at  home. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  1,389,  his 
Republican  opponent  being  CHAELES  JOHNSON",  and  he 
serves  his  constituents  very  efficiently  as  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Affairs  of  Villages,  Expenditures  of  the  Exec- 
utive Department  and  Sub-Committee  of  the  Whole. 


GEORGE  WEST.  309 


GEORGE  WEST. 


Mr.  WEST  is  a  fair  representative  of  the  successful  busi- 
ness man.  By  dint  of  energy,  sagacity  and  perserering 
industry,  he  has  risen  in  a  few  years  from  comparative 
poverty  to  opulence,  and  is  now  one  of  the  largest  manufac- 
turers in  the  eastern  section  of  the  State.  His  career  is 
instructive  and  worthy  of  emulation.  Born  in  Keentsbeer, 
Devonshire  county,  England,  on  the  17th  of  February,  1823, 
of  parents  in  very  moderate  circumstances,  he  had  very  little 
adventitious  aid  in  making  a  future  for  himself.  He  received 
a  good  common  school  education,  however,  and  inherited  from 
his  parents  industrious  habits  and  a  robust  constitution. 
"With  these  as  his  capital  he  commenced  the  battle  of  life. 
His  father  and  uncle  were  paper  makers,  but  he  served  a 
thorough  apprenticeship  with  JOHN"  DEWDNEY,  one  of  the 
leading  manufacturers  in  the  west  of  England,  learning  the 
business  in  all  its  branches.  Soon  after  reaching  his  majority 
he  married  an  English  girl,  whose  prudent  management  and 
wise,  counsel,  no  doubt,  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  his 
success.  He  soon  discovered  that  England  failed  to  afford 
full  scope  for  his  abilities,  and,  in  1849,  when  he  had  reached 
his  twenty-sixth  year,  he  came  with  his  young  wife  to  this 
country.  When  he  arrived  on  our  shores  he  was  almost  pen- 
niless, but  he  possessed  a  good  stock  of  indomitable  pluck. 
He  procured  employment  in  New  Jerse),  where  he  worked 
about  a  year.  From  there  he  went  to  Massachusetts,  where 
he  obtained  employment  in  a  paper  mill  as  an  ordinary  opera- 
tive, continuing  in  that  capacity  about  three  years.  Ulti- 
mately his  employers  discerned  and  appreciated  his  value,  and 
he  soon  found  himself  the  responsible  manager  of  one  of  the 
largest  manufactories  of  writing  paper  in  the  Bay  State. 
During  several  years'  experience  in  that  position,  he  rapidly 


310  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

developed  the  sterling  qualities  by  which  he  finally  won  suc- 
cess ;  and  before  he  had  been  ten  years  in  this  country  he 
became  a  partner  in  an  extensive  paper  mill.  In  the  year 
1860  he  sold  out  his  business  in  Massachusetts,  and  seeing  a 
favorable  opening  at  Ballston  Spa,  removed  thither.  How 
well  time  has  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  his  venture  i& 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  is  now  sole  proprietor  of  six 
large  paper  mills,  all  of  which  are  run  exclusively  on  manilla 
paper,  used  in  the  manufacture  of  grocers'  bags,  and  also 
a  paper  bag  manufactory,  which  turns  out  from  eighty  to  one 
hundred  million  of  those  bags  per  year,  transacting  in  con- 
nection therewith  a  business  which  averages  about  $65,000 
monthly.  One  of  his  mills  was  added  last  October,  at  an 
outlay  of  $60,000.  He  is  also  an  equal  partner  in  the  firm 
of  G-AIR  &  WEST,  whose  depot  for  the  sale  of  paper,  paper 
bags  and  twine  is  located  at  No.  143  Eeade  street,  New 
York,  as  well  as  director  in  the  First  National  Bank  of 
'Ballston  Spa,  and  the  largest  individual  stockholder  in  the 
bank. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  WEST  is  a  good  specimen  of 
the  sturdy  Briton.  Though  of  short  stature,  his  robust  form 
and  broad  shoulders  seem  well  able  to  carry  the  massive  and 
well-developed  head,  which  seems  a  fit  repository  for  a  brain 
of  more  than  ordinary  activity.  He  bears  with  him,  how- 
ever, the  air  and  manner  of  one  who  has  earned  the  right  to 
take  the  world  easy,  and  the  geniality  characterizing  his 
intercourse  with  others  strengthens  such  an  impression  in  the 
mind  of  one  who  judges  men  by  first  impressions.  He  is  a 
man  of  much  earnestness  of  character,  and  is  still  a  hard 
worker,  carrying  much  of  his  energy  and  thoroughness  in 
the  committee  rooms,  though  he  very  rarely  attempts  to 
make  more  than  a  brief  and  pointed  off-hand  speech  on  the 
floor  of  the  House. 

Mr.  WEST  has  always  been  an  ardent  ^Republican,  and 
enjoys  a  large  degree  of  popularity  in  his  own  district,  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  of 


JOHN  M.  WETHERDEE.  311 

1872  by  the  large  majority  of  1,166  over  WILLIAM  T.  ODELL, 
his  Democratic  competitor.  In  the  fall  of  1872  he  was  re- 
elected  without  opposition,  no  other  candidate  being  nomi- 
nated, and  in  the  Legislature  of  1873  was  the  only  member 
of  the  Assembly  having  no  vote  against  him.  In  the  fall  of 
that  year,  local  issues  which  arose  rendered  him  less  for- 
tunate, his  majority  over  GEORGE  A.  ENSIGN,  his  Demo- 
cratic opponent,  being  420.  Last  fall  he  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  709  over  BEI* JAMIST  H.  KNAPP,  Democrat.  Mr 
WEST  was  last  year  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Trade 
and  Manufactures,  and  member  of  Public  Printing  and  Pub- 
lic Lands.  This  year  he  is  member  of  Public  Printing  and 
Trade  and  Manufactures. 


JOHN  M.  WETHERBEE. 


The  seat  allotted  to  Mr.  WETHERBEE  is  rendered  vacant 
by  his  death,  which  occurred  in  March  last.  Owing  to  ill 
health,  he  has  not  taken  much  part  in  legislation ;  but  had 
he  been  permitted,  he  would  have  doubtless  occupied  a 
prominent  position,  as  he  was  a  man  of  decided  ability 
and  unusually  amiable  character.  He  was  born  in  Claren- 
don, Orleans  county,  September  12,  1838.  His  parents 
were  of  New  England  descent.  His  father,  SAMUEL  WETHER- 
BEE, is  a  well-to-do  farmer,  residing  in  Clarendon.  Honesty, 
integrity  and  industry  were  the  distinguishing  characteris- 
tics of  both  father  and  mother. 

Mr.  WETHERBEE  attended  common  schools  until  the  age 
of  fourteen.  He  then  spent  some  time  in  a  store,  and  in 
the  y5ar  1856  entered  Albion  Academy.  He  prosecuted  his 
studies  for  a  time,  and  again  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits, 
which  he  followed,  except  during  a  brief  absence  in  the 


312  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

army,  until  1869,  when  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  busi- 
ness life  because  of  ill  health. 

In  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  G-,  151st 
New  York  Volunteers,  and  remained  with  the  regiment  in 
all  the  actions  in  which  it  was  engaged,  until  he  was  dis- 
abled. On  November  27,  1863,  he  was  wounded  in  a  skir- 
mish while  on  the  advance  to  Mine  Run.  His  leg  was 
amputated  on  the  field,  and  as  eight  days  elapsed  before  he 
reached  an  hospital,  he  was  utterly  broken  down,  having 
suffered  the  keenest  torture  during  that  time.  After  nine 
months  of  hospital  life,  he  came  home  with  a  ruined  consti- 
tution, and  a  condition  of  health  which  was  a  serious  obsta- 
cle to  his  business  pursuits  ever  since.  At  the  time  he  was 
wounded  he  was  first  sergeant  of  the  company,  and  had 
established  a  reputation  for  bravery  and  excellent  soldierly 
qualities. 

Mr.  "WETHEEBEE  was  always  a  Republican,  and  has  held  a 
number  of  positions  of  responsibility.  In  1860,  he  was 
elected  Town  Clerk,  and  held  the  office  two  years.  From 
1864  to  the  spring  of  1867,  he  was  clerk  in  the  treasury 
department  at  Washington.  During  1870  and  1871,  he  acted 
as  distillery  surveyor  on  the  Pacific  coast,  traveling  exten- 
sively through  the  vineyard  portion  of  the  State,  but  returned 
to  the  eastern  States  in  1872,  on  account  of  the  unfavorable 
nature  of  the  climate  at  San  Francisco.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Assembly  by  a  majority  of  698  over  URIEL  TIMMERMAN, 
his  Democratic  opponent. 

Mr.  WETHERBEE  was  a  man  of  unbounded  energy  and 
perseverance,  always  pushing  through  to  a  successful  issue 
every  thing  he  undertook ;  but  it  was  perhaps  a  fault  with 
him  that  his  indomitable  will  was  apt  to  overtask  his  bodily 
strength.  He  was  a  believer  in  a  large-hearted  liberal  Chris- 
tianity and  was  universally  popular  and  respected,  as  & 
citizen. 


DANIEL  E.  WHITMORE.  313 


DANIEL  E.  WHITMORE. 


The  subject  of  the  present  sketch,  who  is  an  influential 
citizen  of  Cortland  county,  possesses  abilities  which  have 
already  commanded  attention  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly 
chamber.  He  is  a  clear  and  forcible  speaker,  generally  sound 
in  his  judgment  of  men  and  measures,  and  quite  decided  and 
tenacious  in  his  opinions.  He  is  not,  however,  a  politician 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  and  hence  the  purification 
of  parties,  and  the  advancement  of  the  moral  as  well  as  the 
material  welfare  of  the  community  are,  with  him,  paramount 
objects  of  honorable  effort. 

He  has  been  a  popular  educator  for  the  better  portion  of 
his  well  spent  life,  and  has  labored  with  much  more  than 
ordinary  success  in  elevating  the  Primary  or  Common 
Schools,  with  which  he  has  been  most  intimately  con- 
nected. 

DANIEL  E.  WHITMORE  was  born  in  Columbus,  Chenango 
county,  N,  Y.,  January  6th,  1825.  He  is  descended  from 
good  and  patriotic  ancestry.  His  father's  name  was  LUTHER 
WHITMORE  ;  his  mother's  maiden  name  was  ELSIE  PERKINS. 
His  grandfathers  on  both  sides  were  among  the  early  settlers 
of  Columbus,  having  emigrated  there  in  1796.  His  paternal 
grandfather  was  from  Connecticut,  and  his  maternal  grand- 
father was  from  Khode  Island.  His  father  was  alternately 
engaged  in  teaching,  merchandising  and  farming,  and  lived 
to  the  age  of  seventy-six.  He  possessed  a  remarkable 
memory,  and  down  to  the  last  year  of  'his  life  was  able  to 
repeat  page  after  page  of  books  which  he  had  read  in  his 
youth.  His  mother  was  an  exemplary  woman,  and  remarka- 
bly'energetic  in  the  performance  of  household  and  social 
duties. 

Young  WHITMORE  commenced  attending  school  at  a  very 
40 


314  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

early  age  and  learned  rapidly.  .  At  the  age  of  ten,  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  his  left  leg,  as  the  result  of  an  abscess 
which  necessitated  its  amputation  near  the  hip.  He,  how- 
ever, performed  considerable  work  about  the  farm  during  his 
remaining  years  of  minority,  and  in  the  meantime  he  studied 
diligently.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  entered  the  Sher- 
burne  Academy,  and  a  year  later  commenced  teaching  a  dis- 
trict school,  at  ten  dollars  per  month — boarding  around 
among  his  pupils.  He  met  with  much  to  discourage  him  in 
this,  his  first  experiment ;  but  he  persevered,  and  achieved  a 
success.  After  this,  for  several  years,  he  alternated  his  win- 
ter terms  of  teaching  with  his  studies  in  other  schools,  and 
he  successively  attended  the  Academy  at  Norwich,  the  Clin- 
ton Liberal  Institute  —  and  lastly,  the  Normal  School  at 
Albany,  from  whence  he  graduated  in  the  fall  of  1846, 
standing  among  the  first  in  a  class  of  forty-six,  and  excel- 
ling especially  in  mathematics.  Among  his  classmates  in 
the  Normal  School  were  ex-Senator  HENRY  E.  LOWE,  Hon. 
WILLIAM  ORTON",  now  President  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company,  DAVID  P.  PAYST,  a  popular  educator, 
and  G-EO.  R.  PERKINS,  Professor  of  Mathematics.  He  was 
then  engaged  as  Principal  of  the  village  school  at  Marathon, 
and  was  also,  for  a  year  or  two,  in  charge  of  mathematics  at 
the  Chenango  county  Institute.  In  1848,  he  took  charge  of 
the  English  Department  of  Cortland  Academy,  at  the  invi- 
tation of  Prof.  S.  B.  WOOLWORTH,  then  Principal  of  that 
institution.  Among  his  pupils  at  Marathon  was  DAVID  R. 
LOCKE,  now  famous  as  Petroleum  V.  Nasby. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  1850,  Mr.  WHITMORE  was  married  to 
Miss  LTDIA  M.  SHATTUCK,  of  Marathon,  a  young  lady  who 
had  already  distinguished  herself  as  a  teacher,  and  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  WHITMORE — the  one  as 
Principal  and  the  other  as  Preceptress — took  charge  of  the 
Union  School  at  Orleans,  and  conducted  it  successfully  until 
late  in  the  year  1853.  He  then  taught  a  couple  of  years 
in  Canandaigua  and  Marathon,  when  he  relinquished  teach- 


DANIEL  E.   WHITMORE.  315 

ing  and  turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits,  holding, 
for  a  couple  of  years,  in  the  meantime,  the  office  of  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  by  appointment  of  Gov.  CLARK.  In  the  fall  of 
1857,  he  was  elected  School  Commissioner,  and  held  the 
office,  by  successive  elections,  for  fifteen  years.  It  is  by  his 
special  efforts  that  the  Cortland  County  Teachers'  Institute 
has  taken  rank  among  the  first  in  the  State,  and  he  always 
labored  generously  and  incessantly  in  the  discharge  of  his 
official  duties  —  being  almost  always  in  attendance  at  State 
and  local  educational  gatherings.  In  1870,  he  was  chosen 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  State  Association  of  Commis- 
sioners and  Superintendents,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Association,  held  at  Utica,  in  May,  1871,  he  delivered  an 
able  address  on  "  School  Visitation."  In  his  annual  reports, 
he  has  advocated  a  number  of  educational  reforms.  In  1872, 
as  a  fit  recognition  of  his  ability  and  learning,  Hamilton 
College  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 

At  the  present  time,  Mr.  WHITMORE  is  a  wholesale  produce 
dealer  and  insurance  agent,  having  business  relations  with 
G-EO.  B.  WHITMORE  of  New  York,  and  has  been  quite  success- 
ful. He  was  one  of  the  charter  trustees  of  the  Cortland 
Savings  Bank,  and  acted  as  its  secretary  until  it  was  fully 
organized.  In  politics  he  was  originally  a  Whig,  but  he 
united  with  the  Kepublican  party  on  its  organization,  and 
has  acted  with  it  ever  since.  Twice  he  has  been  a  delegate 
from  Cortland  county  to  the  State  conventions  of  the  party 
—  in  1871  and  1872.  Last  winter  Mr.  WHITMORE'S  name 
was  presented  to  the  legislature  for  the  office  of  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction,  being  backed  by  recommenda- 
tions from  members  of  the  Republican  County  Committee  of 
Cortland  county,  and  also  by  a  large  number  of  distinguished 
citizens.  His  qualifications  were  fully  conceded,  but  another 
received  the  office,  which  he  would  have  filled  to  universal 
satisfaction.  He  has  not,  however,  been  a  seeker  after  office, 
and  only  entered  the  canvass  last  fall  at  the  solicitation  of 
his  friends.  That  canvass  was  contested  much  more  sharply 


316  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

than  usual,  but  he  succeeded  in   defeating  his  opponent, 
DANIEL  S.  LAMOOT,  by  a  majority  of  138. 

In  person,  Mr.  WHITMORE  is  of  medium  size,  has  a  well 
compacted  brain,  a  clear  intelligent  eye,  and  a  well  modu- 
lated voice ;  his  manners  are  courteous  and  agreeable  ;  his 
benevolence  is  commensurate  with  his  means,  while  his  hospi- 
tality is  of  that  elegant  kind  which  always  makes  its  recip- 
ient at  ease,  and  gives  them  an  agreeable  welcome.  In 
short,  he  is  a  gentlemen  of  refined  culture,  character  and 
influence,  possessing  the  inborn  sense  and  the  outward  graces 
of  the  polished  scholar.  He  is  an  influential  and  consistent 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  has  frequently  been 
a  delegate  to  the  Presbytery.  For  three  years  he  was  Com- 
missioner and  Examiner  of  the  Auburn  Theological  Semi- 
nary. He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  General  Assembly  at 
Cincinnati  in  1862,  and  he  has  from  early  manhood  taken  a 
deep  interest  in  the  success  of  Sabbath 'schools  and  temper- 
ance associations,  holding  the  position  of  superintendent  of 
the  former  for  fifteen  years. 


WARREN  G.  WILLIS. 


Mr.  WILLIS  represents  the  first  district  of  Delaware  county. 
He  was  born  in  Masonville,  where  he  still  resides,  on  the 
llth  of  March,  1827.  He  comes  of  an  ancestry  distinguished 
in  two  wars,  his  grandfather,  SOLOMON  WILLIS,  having  been 
an  officer  in  the  French  war,  and  also  in  the  Revolution, 
espousing  in  the  latter  the  patriot  cause.  His  father 
WEARAM  WILLIS,  came  from  Tolland  county,  Connecticut, 
to  Delaware  county  when  the  latter  was  little  more  than 
wilderness  and  forest.  He  afterward  held  the  office  of  Justice 
of  the  Peace  and  Supervisor  many  years,  and  became  a 
prominent  man. 


WARREN  G.  WILLIS.  317 

V 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  educated  in  the  district  and 
select  school?  at  Masonville  and  at  Delaware  Literary  Insti- 
tute. Since  his  majority  he  has  engaged  in  a  number,  of  pur- 
suits, being  at  different  times  farmer,  teacher,  real  estate 
conveyancer,  and  attorney  at  law,  doing  considerable  business 
in  settling  estates  and  purchasing  lands.  At  the  present 
time  he  is  a  farmer.  In  1850  he  visited  California  and  Cuba, 
and  subsequently  he  sojourned  a  short  time  in  the  Western 
States.  He  has  made  a  number  of  judicious  real  estate 
investments,  and  owns  considerable  land  in  Minnesota  and 
New  York,  some  of  the  latter  being  in  Albany  county. 

in  politics  Mr.  WILLIS  was  formerly  a  Whig  and  an 
admirer  of  HENRY  CLAY.  He  voted  for  SCOTT  in  1852  and 
FREMONT  in  1856  for  the  Presidency,  and  though  he  has  at 
times  voted  with  the  Temperance  and  Abolition  organiza- 
tions, he  has  generally  been  in  line  with  the  Republican 
party.  During  most  of  the  time  from  1860  to  1871  he  filled 
the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  his  town.  In  the  years 
1869,  1871  and  1872  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors, and  has  besides  held  a  number  of  minor  offices.  In 
all  of  these  positions  he  evinced  ability  of  a  high  order,  and 
performed  his  duty  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public.  As 
Supervisor  he,  in  1861,  advocated  a  county  bounty  for  volun- 
teers. He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  over  HENRY  WELSH, 
Democrat,  by  a  majority  of  470,  which  was  about  the 
same  as  the  previous  year.  He  performs  his  duties  in  the 
Assembly  with  zeal  and  intelligence,  and  proves  to  be  an 
excellent  representative. 

The  speeches  which  he  occasionally  makes  are  fine  speci- 
mens of  homely,  clear-cut  common  sense,  going  right  to  the 
heart  of  the  subject  in  hand.  He  is  especially  eloquent 
when  defending  the  interests  of  the  farmer.  He  speaks  with 
great  facility  of  utterance,  and  possesses  a  powerful  voice, 
which  is  heard  in  every  part  of  the  chamber. 


318  LIFE  SKETCHES. 


JACOB  M.  WITBECK. 


Mr.  WITBEOK  is  engaged  extensively  in  milling  at  Nassau 
Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  resides,  and  is  also  a  part- 
ner in  a  large  brick  business  in  Castleton.  He  was  born  on 
the  17th  of  September,  1820,  in  the  town  of  Schodack,  Rens- 
selaer  county,  and  is  of  Dutch  descent.  His  paternal  grand- 
father came  from  Holland,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers 
in  Schodack,  on  the  Van  Eensselaer  Manor.  Mr.  WITBECK 
may  be  styled  a  self-made  man.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  was 
taken  from  school  and  left  to  work  his  own  way  in  the  world. 
His  subsequent  career  as  mechanic,  farmer,  hotel-keeper, 
brick  manufacturer  and  miller,  has  been  a  success  such  as 
honesty  and  persevering  industry  only  can  secure. 

Although  a  life-long  Democrat,  Mr.  WITBECK  was  elected 
Supervisor  of  the  town  of  Nassau,  one  of  the  strongest 
Eepublican  towns  in  the  county,  in  1868,  an  undoubted  tribute 
to  his  patriotic  efforts  in  raising  soldiers  during  the  dark  days 
of  the  war.  His  position  throughout  the  community  in 
which  he  is  best  known,  is  that  of  a  man  of  influence,  char- 
acter and  real  moral  worth.  Mr.  WITBECK  was  married  June 
7,  1848,  to  Miss  AMANDA  NIVEE,  of  Kinderhook,  Columbia 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  attends  the  Reformed  church. 

He  is  an  excellent  working  member  of  the  House  to  which 
he  has  now  been  twice  elected,  and  serves  on  the  Committees 
on  Claims  and  Agriculture,  being  last  year  on  Federal  Rela- 
tions, and  Two-thirds  and  Three-fifths  Bills. 


JACOB  WORTH.  319 


JACOB  WORTH. 


Mr.  WORTH  is  a  resident  of  the  sixteenth  ward  of  Brook- 
lyn, and  represents  the  Sixth  district  of  Kings  county  in  the 
Assembly.  His  parents  emigrated  from  South  Germany  in  the 
year  1837,  locating  in  New  York  city ;  five  years  later  they 
removed  to  Brooklyn,  and  there  the  family  have  since  resided. 

Mr.  WORTH  was  born  in  New  York  soon  after  his  parents 
arrived  in  that  city,  and  therefore  he  is  now  about  thirty-six 
years  of  age.  His  father  died  when  he  was  but  seven  years 
of  age,  and  from  that  time  he  was  practically  obliged  to 
depend  upon  his  own  efforts  to  earn  a  living,  as  well  as  to 
provide  for  his  widowed  mother.  He  thus  had  very  little 
opportunity  to  obtain  an  education.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
first  time  he  ever  saw  the  inside  of  a  school-house  was  in  1863, 
when  he  was  a  candidate  for  legislative  honors.  He  is,  there- 
fore, self-made,  as  the  phrase  goes,  and  self-educated. 

His  life  has  been  quite  eventful.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
went  to  sea,  and,  during  an  absence  of  three  years,  made  the 
circuit  of  the  globe.  Soon  after  his  return  he  entered  the 
political  arena,  and  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen  was  elected 
to  represent  his  ward  in  the  Democratic  General  Committee. 
When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  he  was  enthusiastic  in  cham- 
pioning the  Union  cause,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  firm 
and  consistent  Eepublican,  devoting  much  time  and  effort  in 
spreading  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  his  party  among 
his  fellow-countrymen.  It  is  probably  due  to  him  more  than 
to  any  other  man  that,  in  spite  of  adverse  influences  arising 
from  excise  laws  and  other  issues,  the  Germans  of  the  Eastern 
district  of  Brooklyn,  comprising  a  large  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation of  that  section,  have  been  kept  true  to  Eepublicanism. 

In  September,  1862,  Mr.  WORTH  was  commissioned  a  First 
Lieutenant  in  Col.  CROCK'S  regiment,  the  ]39th  New  York, 


320  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

and  went  with  his  regiment  to  the  front.  Shortly  after  he 
was  promoted  to  a  Captaincy,  and  was  given  a  command  in 
the  84th  New  York  regiment.  He  participated  with  credit 
in  all  the  battles  and  skirmishes  of  the  regiment  until  the 
latter  part  of  1863,  when  he  resigned  because  of  ill-health. 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  placed  in  the  field  as 
the  Eepublican  candidate  for  Assembly  in  the  district  com- 
prising the  7th,  loth,  16th  and  19th  wards  of  Brooklyn,  and 
succeeded  in  defeating  FRANK  SMITH,  the  Democratic  can- 
didate, by  over  1,000  majority.  In  1864  he  was  re-elected 
by  about  700  majority  over  JOHN  HANSON,  the  district 
giving  the  Democratic  State  ticket  at  the  same  time  500 
majority.  In  1865  he  was  once  more  chosen  to  the  Assembly, 
receiving  about  1,200  majority,  Judge  EAMES,  a  very  popular 
man  on  the  Democratic  side,  being  his  opponent.  In  1866 
he  was  a  candidate  for  Street  Commissioner  against  EGBERT 
FURY,  and  was  defeated  by  1,400  votes,  in  a  poll  of  more 
than  48,000,  running  8,800  votes  ahead  of  the  Kepublican 
State  ticket.  In  the  fall  of  1867  he  was  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly from  the  district  composed  of  the  16th  and  19th  wards 
of  Brooklyn,  by  30  majority,  the  Democratic  State  ticket 
receiving  over  1,100  majority.  In  1868  he  represented  the 
Second  Congressional  district  of  this  State  in  the  Electoral 
College  which  gave  Gen.  GRANT  the  34  votes  of  the  Empire 
State.  He  ran  again  for  Assembly  in  1869,  but  was  defeated 
by  BERNARD  HAVER,  a  Democrat,  by  58  votes,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  an  Independent  Republican  was  in  the  field,  and 
polled  some  458  votes.  In  1872  he  was  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly, receiving  a  majority  of  555  over  AUGUST  MERRINGER  ; 
in  1873  by  a  plurality  of  958  over  JOHN  RABER,  Democrat, 
and  JOHN  HINMAN,  Independent,  and  last  fall  he  was  again 
chosen  to  the  Assembly  by  a  plurality  of  453  over  JOHN 
MAERTZ,  Democrat,  and  ISAAC  N.  HOLLY,  independent, 
being  now  in  his  seventh  term  of  service. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  overcome  his  popularity  in  the 
16th  ward.  He  has  suffered  much  detraction  at  the  hands 


JACOB  D.  WURTS.  321 

of  political  opponents,  but  he  is  ever  ready  to  meet  his  assail- 
ants face  to  face  on  any  issue,  and  his  manly  course  of  action 
invariably  compels  respect  and  admiration.  His  energy  and 
perseverance  are  distinguishing  traits  in  his  character,  and 
the  Committee  of  One  Hundred  showed  obvious  appreciation 
of  his  merit,  by  requesting  him  to  champion  their  Eeform 
Charter  through  the  Assembly  in  1873.  It  is  conceded  that 
he  worthily  perfermed  the  task  allotted  to  him,  not  hesitating 
to  measure  lances  with  the  ablest  debaters  in  the  House.  Mr. 
WORTH  has  been  elected  to  represent  the  16th  ward  in  the 
Eepublican  General  Committee  every  year  for  the  past  twelve 
years,  and  during  the  past  ten  years  has  been  the  elected  rep- 
resentative of  his  assembly  district  to  all  the  State  Conven- 
tions of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  good 
presence  and  commanding  figure,  standing  six  feet  in  height. 
If  he  lives  to  the  usual  age  allotted  to  man,  he  bids  fair  to 
become  as  popular  in  the  State  as  he  is  now  in  Brooklyn. 
He  was  married  in  1861,  and  has  two  interesting  children. 


JACOB  D.  WURTS. 


JACOB  DAVID  WURTS,  from  the  second  district  of  Ulster 
county,  is  a  prominent  physician  of  New  Paltz,  and  a  young 
man  of  ability  and  high  character.  He  was  born  in  New 
Paltz  on  the  llth  of  May,  1846,  and  is  of  German  and 
French  extraction.  His  father,  DAVID  WURTS,  now  de- 
ceased, was  a  physician  of  eminence  as  well  as  a  prominent 
Democrat,  and  held,  during  his  life,  numerous  political 
positions.  Young  WURTS  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  Bellevue  Medical  College,  and  Geneva  Medical  Col- 
lege. He  was  obliged  to  rely  largely  upon  his  own  resources 
in  prosecuting  his  studies,  and  his  attainments  are,  therefore, 
fairly  the  result  of  energetic  effort  and  youthful  perseverance. 
41 


322  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  commenced  practicing  in  his 
native  village,  and,  though  he  had  to  work  his  way  against 
two  old  physicians,  he  was  not  long  in  establishing  a  lucra- 
tive practice,  and  now  his  counsel  and  advice  are  frequently 
sought  by  his  rivals. 

Dr.  WURTS  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  has  generally 
taken  an  active  part  in  politics ;  but  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  town  offices,  which  have  been  pressed  upon  him,  he  has 
never  held  public  position  before.  In  the  late  canvass  he 
was  opposed  by  Eepublican  and  Temperance  candidates,  but 
received  a  plurality  of  508  in  a  district  usually  giving 
about  300  Republican  majority.  He  is  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  Public  Health,  and  member  of  Petitions  of 
Aliens,  and  Two-thirds  and  Three-fifths  bills. 

In  religion  Mr.  WURTS  is  a  Protestant,  and  he  is,  in  all 
respects,  a  sound  and  able  man  and  good  citizen,  possessing, 
also,  many  of  those  peculiar  qualifications  which  mark  the 
successful  and  efficient  legislator.  He  was  married  in  New- 
burgh  in  1867,  to  Miss  ARABELLA  D.  BLOOMER. 


GEORGE  E.  YOST. 


Mr.  YOST  is  serving  his  first  term  as  a  legislator,  repre- 
senting the  Second  district  of  Jefferson  county.  He  is  well 
known  in  the  business  circles  of  Jefferson  county,  as  a  man 
of  unquestioned  probity  of  character,  and  marked  ability  as 
a  financier  and  tradesman.  He  was  born  at  Theresa,  April 
7,  1838,  and  received  a  good  practical  education  in  the  dis- 
trict school,  and  at  Theresa  High  School.  Since  reaching 
manhood  he  has  been  at  different  times  a  farmer,  teacher, 
manufacturer  and  produce  dealer,  and  is  now  engaged  in 
banking.  He  has  been  quite  successful  in  all  his  ventures, 


HIRAM  CALKINS.  323 

and  has  reached  an  influential  position  in  the  community 
where  he  resides,  solely  as  the  result  of  his  own  ability  and 
energy. 

In  politics  Mr.  YOST  has  always  been  a  Kepublican,  and  a 
very  active  one.  Since  the  spring  of  1873  he  has  represented 
the  town  of  Theresa  in  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  in 
1871  he  was  elected  without  opposition  as  the  first  President 
of  the  village  of  Theresa.  Last  year  he  was  re-elected  Super- 
visor without  opposition.  Last  fall  he  received  the  assembly 
nomination  with  great  unanimity,  and  was  elected  over  JOHN 
JOHNSTON,  his  Democratic  opponent,  by  a  majority  of  602. 
He  ably  serves  his  district  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  and 
while  not  being  a  man  of  frequent  speeches,  is  well  able  to 
sustain  his  share  in  the  debates.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Internal  Affairs. 


HIRAM  CALKINS, 

CLERK   OF   THE   ASSEMBLY. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  present  Clerk  of  the 
Assembly,  is  familiar  to  legislative  halls,  having,  besides 
being  Clerk  of  the  Senate,  spent  several  years  as  Albany  cor- 
respondent of  the  New  York  press. 

He  is  a  native  of  Wyoming  county  in  this  State,  and  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Gainesville  on  the  28th  of  December, 
1833.  He  has  therefore  passed  his  fortieth  year.  His  father, 
ELISHA  D.  CALKINS,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  that 
section  of  the  State.  He  left  Saratoga  in  1813,  and  purchased 
a  tract  of  land  in  the  town  of  Gainesville,  and  moved  his 
family  upon  it  in  1815,  when  there  were  but  few  in  the 
neighborhood.  Out  of  the  wilderness  which  he  found,  he 
gradually  evoked  one  of  the  most  productive  farms  in  that 
region. 


324  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

The  ancestors  of  Mr.  CALKINS,  both  paternal  and  mater- 
nal, were  prominently  connected  with  the  events  of  the 
country  in  its  early  history.  On  his  father's  side,  they  came 
from  "Wales  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  were 
for  years  members  of  the  Colonial  Council  of  Massachusetts. 
During  the  Revolutionary  war  they  were  foremost  in  the 
ranks  of  the  patriot  army.  The  great  grandfather  of  Mr. 
CALKINS  was  with  ETHAN  ALLEN  at  the.  capture  of  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  subsequently  died  in  the  service  at  that  point. 

His  ancestors,  on  his  mother's  side,  came  from  England  in 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  settled  in  Con- 
necticut, in  the  village  of  Norwalk.  His  mother's  name 
was  LOCKWOOD,  a  name  familiar  to  all  conversant  with  the 
early  history  of  western  Connecticut.  His  great-grandfather, 
on  his  mother's  side,  was  a  general  in  the  Connecticut  Mili- 
tia during  the  Eevoluntary  war,  and,  as  such,  was  a  special 
favorite  of  General  Washington  during  his  campaigns  in 
New  England. 

The  early  boyhood  of  Mr.  CALKINS  was  spent  upon  the 
farm.  His  father  died  when  he  was  but  seventeen  years  of 
age,  and  upon  him  devolved  the  superintendence  of  a  large 
farm  in  that  grain  growing  section  of  the  State.  He  was 
equal  to  the  task,  however,  and  until  he  reached  his  majority, 
he  remained  with  his  mother  on  the  homestead,  solely 
responsible  for  the  management  of  the  farm.  Prior  to  the 
death  of  his  father,  the  only  educational  advantages  he  pos- 
sessed were  those  afforded  by  the  district  school. 

Those  conversant  with  farm  duties  would  infer  that  he 
could  have  no  better  advantage  after  that  period.  But  with 
all  the  responsibilities  upon  his  shoulders,  he  found  time  to 
attend  to  the  cultivation  of  his  mind.  Having  access  to  one 
of  the  best  libraries  in  that  section,  every  leisure  moment 
was  spent  in  reading,  and  during  the  winter  months,  until 
he  was  twenty-one,  he  attended  at  Castile,  studying  dili- 
gently and  with  a  determination  to  excel  in  every  branch  of 


HIRAM  CALKINS.  325 

knowledge.     As  a  result,  he  had  secured  a  fair  education 
by  the  time  he  reached  his  majority. 

He  then  conceived  the  idea  of  travel,  and  became  anxious 
to  see  something  of  the  world.  He  took  a  trip  through  some 
of  the  western  States,  and  finally  brought  up  at  Harris- 
burgh,  Penn.,  where  he  engaged  in  book-keeping  and 
corresponding  for  the  Philadelphia  Sun  and  other  papers 
during  the  session  of  the  legislature.  He  was  then  a 
Whig,  having  been  educated  in  that  school  of  politics. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  was  elected  Chairman  of 
the  Whig  County  Committee  of  Dauphin  county.  He 
made  one  of  the  most  thorough  canvasses  of  the  county  that 
was  ever  made,  personally  organizing  in  every  school  district 
of  the  county,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  for  Gov.  POLLOCK 
and  the  balance  of  the  ticket  the  largest  majority  ever  given, 
before  or  since,  in  that  county.  At  the  demise  of  the  Whig 
party,  and  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party,  he 
retired,  for  a  time,  from  active  participation  in  politics,  and 
soon  after  began  to  identify  himself  with  the  Democracy. 
His  first  Presidential  vote  was  cast  for  MILLAED  PILLMORE, 
in  1856.  About  that  time  he  commenced  corresponding  for 
the  New  York  Herald,  and  was  so  successful  that  Mr.  HUD- 
SON, then  managing  editor  of  that  journal,  offered  him  a 
situation  on  the  paper  in  New  York.  In  the  fall  of  1857  he 
went  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  with  the  view  of  purchasing  a 
paper  at  that  place.  But  in  consequence  of  the  panic  of  that 
year,  he  abandoned  the  idea  and  engaged  in  other  business. 
In  January,  1859,  he  left  Milwaukee  and  took  up  his  resi-» 
dence  in  New  York,  where  he  soon  after  accepted  a  situation 
on  the  Herald.  During  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in 
1860  he  was  sent  to  Albany  as  the  representative  of  the 
Herald,  and  soon  attracted  universal  attention  by  his  spicy 
letters  and  exposures  of  the  inside  workings  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. Independent  and  fearless  in  his  course,  his  letters 
became  the  feature  of  the  session.  He  gave  the  name  of 
"  Gridiron "  to  the  city  railroad  legislation  of  that  session. 


326  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

He  was  the  correspondent  of  the  Herald  during  four  sessions 
of  the  Legislature,  and  during  that  period  had  the  reputation 
of  presenting  the  most  complete  and  truthful  report  given  by 
any  of  the  New  York  correspondents. 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  Mr.  BENNETT  sent  him  to  Washington 
to  represent  the  paper  at  the  national  capital.  He  soon 
obtained  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  posted  of  any  man 
at  that  point.  He  established  confidential  relations  with  the 
President  and  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  for  a  long 
time  was  the  only  correspondent  whom  Secretary  STANTON 
would  permit  about  his  office  or  communicate  with.  He  had 
free  access  to  Mr.  STANTON'S  office  at  all  times.  He  was  in 
Washington  at  the  time  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN, 
and  on  the  evening  previous  was  invited  by  Mr.  LINCOLN  to 
accompany  him  to  the  theater  on  that  eventful  night.  He 
was  present  at  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  his  description 
of  the  scenes  attending  that  event  were  the  most  graphic  that 
were  published.  The  account  of  the  affair  which  appeared  in 
the  Herald,  embracing  nine  columns,  was  telegraphed  by  him 
on  Saturday.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  details  that  161,000 
copies  of  the  Herald  were  sold  on  Sunday  morning.  Dur- 
ing that  summer  and  the  following  winter,  he  visited  Wash- 
ington regularly  once  each  month  and  was  present  at  every 
important  event  of  that  year.  Just  before  the  organization 
of  the  Congress  of  1865,  he  gave  a  full  description  of  the  pro- 
posed conflict  of  Congress  with  the  President,  with  Mr. 
STEVENS'  programme  for  precipitating  the  contest,  which  was 
•subsequently  carried  out  in  detail.  During  that  period  he 
was  the  medium  through  which  Mr.  BENNETT  commmuni- 
cated  with  the  leading  men  at  Washington,  and  thus  per- 
sonally obtained  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  public 
men,  both  in  Congress  and  Cabinet,  than  any  other  person 
connected  with  the  press  outside  of  Washington.  Few  knew 
better  than  Mr.  CALKINS  of  the  inner  workings,  the  secrets, 
the  schemes  and  the  conspiracies  of  that  period. 

In  the  fall  of  1866  he  severed  his  connection  with  the 


HIRAM  CALKINS.  327 

Herald  and  engaged  on  the  World,  with  which  he  has  been 
connected  more  or  less  continuously  until  the  present  time. 
He  was  the  Albany  representative  of  the  World  during  the 
legislative  session  of  1866,  when  an  exposure  which  he  made 
of  the  canal  ring  created  a  sensation  throughout  the  State. 
It  led  to  an  investigation,  a  number  of  changes  among  the 
canal  officials,  and  an  almost  universal  demand  for  the  abo- 
lition of  the  contract  system.  Those  who  then  read  Mr. 
CALKINS'  prospectus  of  the  Canal  Academy  at  Little  Falls, 
will  never  forget  its  satire  and  practical  hits  upon  the  canal 
men  of  that  day,  many  of  whose  names  are  mentioned  quite 
freely  in  connection  with  the  expose  just  set  on  foot  by  GOT. 
TILDES. 

In  the  fall  of  1868,  soon  after  the  death  of  MILES  O'KiELLEY, 
Mr.  CALKINS  became  editor  of  the  New  York  Citizen,  and 
some  of  the  best  literary  work  he  has  done  was  performed 
upon  that  journal.  In  1870  he  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  Senate 
by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Democratic  Senators,  and  in 
that  responsible  and  difficult  position  he  performed  his  duties 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  and  brought  to  his  task  great 
energy,  close  application,  and  an  exhaustive  talent  much 
beyond  that  which  his  most  sanguine  friends  anticipated. 

In  1872  he  was  again  the  correspondent  of  the  World  at 
Albany,  and  has  since  remained  in  the  service  of  the  paper, 
except  when  engaged  in  the  performance  of  official  duties.  In 
the  winter  of  1873  he  was  clerk  of  the  Constitutional  Com- 
mission, and  rendered  more  aid  than  is  generally  supposed 
in  reducing  to  presentable  form  the  valuable  suggestions  of 
the  distinguished  men  composing  that  commission,  and 
at  the  close  of  its  labors  he  received  a  unanimous  vote  of 
thanks  for  the  ability  and  courtesy  which  had  characterized 
his  official  conduct. 

Long  before  the  present  Assembly  convened,  Mr.  CALKINS 
was  by  all  odds  the  favorite  candidate  for  the  clerkship,  his 
well  known  ability  and  experience  being  strongly  in  his  favor, 
and  when  the  Democratic  caucus  met,  there  was  virtually  no 


328  LIFE  SKETCHES. 

opposition.  He  was  finally  chosen  unanimously,  and  received 
on  the  formal  election  the  entire  vote  of  his  party.  In  his 
performance  of  the  onerous  duties  which  devolve  upon  him, 
he  has  fully  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  the  majority  of  the 
House  in  selecting  him.  The  operations  of  the  clerk's  desk 
have  progressed  smoothly  and  orderly  during  the  entire 
session,  the  legislative  business  being  dispatched  with  con- 
siderable speed,  and  yet  without  unseemly  haste  or  confusion. 
He  has  gathered  about  him  a  very  excellent  force  of  assist- 
ants, and  has,  in  the  main,  avoided  the  blunders  which 
sometimes  occur  even  in  the  best  regulated  legislative 
bodies.  He  is  also  courteous  and  obliging  to  every  mem- 
ber, officer  and  reporter  in  the  House,  and  is  esteemed  by  all. 

Mr.  CALKINS  was  married  in  January,  1858,  to  Miss 
JENNIE  PAKTCH,  of  Burlington,  Vt.  She  died,  however,  in 
the  winter  of  1872. 

Mr.  CALKINS'  character  is  very  correctly  described  in  a 
sketch  recently  published  in  the  New  York  Phrenological 
Journal.  The  writer  sums  him  up  as  a  penetrating  observer 
and  sharp  critic,  a  rapid  reasoner,  a  ready,  off-hand  worker, 
able  to  meet  duties  arising  from  a  multiplicity  of  responsi- 
bilities ;  is  positive,  steadfast  and  thorough  in  whatever  he 
undertakes ;  possesses  considerable  inventive  talent,  and,  in 
short,  has  those  capabilities  indispensable  to  the  man  who 
occupies  a  position  where  accuracy  of  judgment  and  exten- 
sive knowledge  are  required. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  SENATE.  329 

SENATORS. 

NAMES,    DISTRICTS,   COUNTIES  IN   WHICH   THEY   BESIDE,   POST-OFFICE 
ADDRESS  AND  POLITICS. 


Lieut.-Gov.  WM.  DOKSHEIMEB,  President  of  the  Senate. 


5 

Name  of  Senator. 

County. 

Post-office  address. 

Politics. 

i 

John  A.  King  —  ............. 

Suffolk  

Great  Neck  

Republican. 

2 

John  W.  Coe  

Kings  .  

Brooklyn  

Democrat. 

3 

John  C.  Jacobs  

Kings  

Brooklyn  

Democrat. 

4 

John  Fox  

New  York  

New  York  

Democrat. 

5 

James  W.  Booth  

New  York  

New  York  

Republican. 

0 

New  York  

New  York.  .  ..  .... 

Democrat. 

7 

Thomas  A.  Ledwlth  

New  York.  

New  York.  

Democrat. 

8 

Hugh  H.  Moore  

New  York.  

N«w  York  

Democrat. 

9 

William  H.  Robertson  

Westchester  .  .. 

Katonah  

Republican. 

10 

Edward  H  Madden  

Orange  ........... 

Middletown  

Republican. 

11 

Benjamin  Ray  ........................ 

Columbia  

Hudson  

Democrat. 

12 

Roswell  A.  Parmenter..  .......... 

Rensselaer  

Troy......................... 

Democrat. 

13 

Albany  ........... 

West  Troy  

Democrat. 

H 

Ulster  _  

Fly  Mountain.     . 

Republican. 

15 

Webster  Wagner  .  —  _.  

Montgomery  .... 

Palatine  Bridge.  

Republican. 

16 

Franklin  W.  Tobsy.................. 

Essex  

Port  Henry  ...... 

Republican. 

17 

Wells  8.  Dickinson.................. 

Franklin  

Republican. 

18 

Andrew  C.  Middleton  

Jefferson  

Black  River.............. 

Independent 

19 

Samuel  S.  Lowery  .......  

Onelda  ............. 

TJtica  

Republican. 

20 

Archibald  C.  McGowan  .. 

Herkimer  ......... 

Frankfort  

Republican. 

21 

Madison......  

Chi  ttenango..  ............. 

Republican. 

22 

Daniel  P.  Wood  ...................... 

Ononda&a  ......... 

Republican. 

23 

James  G.  Thompson............... 

Chenango  

Norwich  

Republican. 

24 

John  H.  Selkreg.  ............  

Tompktns  

Ithaca........................ 

Republican. 

25 

William  B.  Woodm  ............... 

Oayuga  

Auburn  

Republican. 

• 

William  Johnson.................... 

Seneca  

Seneca  Falls...  

Democrat. 

27 

George  B.  Bradley.................. 

Steuben  ........  — 

Corning  .................... 

Democrat. 

28 

Jarvis  Lord.........  ••••••.•••...  ..•••• 

Monroe  ......... 

Rochester  ................. 

Democrat. 

29 

Ban  H.  Cole  

Orleans  .  ............ 

Albion..................... 

Republican. 

30 

Abljah  J.  Wellmaru  

Allegany  ......... 

Friendship  ................ 

Republican. 

31 

Albert  P.  Laning................. 

Brie  

Buffalo  .,  HIM.  ....... 

Democrat. 

32 

Albert  G.  Dow...................  

Cattaraugn*.  

Randolph  

Republican. 

330 


LIFE  SKETCHES. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY. 

ALPHABETICALLY     ARRANGED,    WITH    THE    DISTRICTS    AND    COUNTIES 
THEY  REPRESENT,    POST-OFFICE  ADDRESS  AND  POLITICS. 


Hon.  JEREMIAH  McGUIRE,  Speaker. 


Name. 

County. 

Post-office. 

Politics. 

Alvord,  Thomas  G—  

Badger,  John  P  „ 

Franklin  

Burke    

Barkley,  Benjamin  F  
Barrow,  George  

Greene  

Jewett  

Democrat. 

Beach,  Alfred  N  

New  York  

Beardsley,  Chas.  S.,  Jr  
Benedict,  Samuel  T  
Bennett  Warren  C  

Cayuga  
Schenectady  .... 

Auburn  
Schenectady  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 

Berry,  George  

Madison  

Bishop,  James  „  

Tioga  

Tioga  

Bordwell,  Orville  C.  

Niagara  

Bowen,  Shepard  P  

Clinton  

Plattsburgh  

Republican. 

Bradley,  Daniel  

Kings  »  

Braman,  Waters  W  «  

Albany  

West  Troy  

Broas,  Benjamin  S  

Dutchess  

Brogan,  John  C  

New  York  

New  York  city  
Spring  Valley 

Democrat. 

Burtis,  John  H  
Calkins,  William  E  

Kings  
Essex  ...t,  

Brooklyn  

Republican. 

Campbell,  Thomas  C  
Campbell,  Timothy  J  
Christopher,  William  H  
Clark,  William  H  

New  York  
New  York  
Putnam  
Wayne  

New  York  city  
New  York  city  
Croton  Falls,  West.  Co 

Democrat. 
Democrat. 
Democrat. 

Cleary,  William  V  
Coffey,  Michael  
Cole,  Eichard  D  

Eensselaer  
Kings  
Monroe  

Troy  ~  
Brooklyn  
Rochester  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 
Democrat. 

Cooke,  James  E  
Cost!  an,  Thomas  

Otsego  
New  York  _  

Morris  -  
New  York  city  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY. 


331 


4 
5 

Name. 

County. 

Post-office. 

Politics. 

3 
14 
2 

Daggett,  Henry  J  
Daly,  James  
Davis,  Emerson  £  

Oswego  
New  York  

New  Haven  
New  York  city  
Whitehall  

Be  publican. 
Democrat. 

2 
17 
2 
1 
2 

Decker,  George  G  -  
Dessar,  Leo  C  
Edson,  Obed  
Ely,  William  H  

Delaware  
New  York  
Chautauqua  
Otsego  

Margaretville  
New  York  city  
Sinclairville  
Worcester  

Republican. 
Democrat. 
Democrat- 
Democrat. 

Faulkner,  James,  Jr  
Fay,  George  W  
Fish  William  H  

Livingston  
Fulton  &  Ham.. 

Dansville  
Gloversville,  Ful.  Co., 

Democrat. 
Republican. 

1 

Fream,  John  

Ulster  

2 

3 

Friend,  Joseph  D  
Gallagher,  Edward  

Orange  
Erie  „  

Mlddletown  
Buffalo  

Democrat. 
Republican. 

9 

Gedney,  William  H  
Green,  Newton  H  
Griffin,  Stephen,  2d  

New  York  
Genesee  

New  York  city  
Byron  

Republican. 
Republican. 
Democrat  . 

1 

Hammond,  Stephen  H.  

Democrat. 

1 

Hanrahan,  Patrick  

Erie  

Buffalo  ~  

Democrat. 

1<» 

Hauschel,  Germain  

Democrat- 

VI 

Hepburn,  A.  Barton  

Colton  

Republican. 

80 

Republican. 

1 

Hinckley,  Otis  D"  

Republican. 

1 

Hogan,  William  
Holmes,  Daniel  M  
Houghton,  Nathaniel  M  

Seneca  
Chenango  

Waterloo  
Norwich  
Corinth  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 
Republican. 

•> 

Hussey,  Erastus  H  

Republican. 

I 

Husted,  James  W  

Peekskill     

Bepublican. 

a 

Ives,  Silas  T  

Clinton  

Democrat. 

a 

Johnson,  Willard  _  

Fulton  

Democrat. 

ft 

Johnson,  William  A  

Erie  

Collins  Centre  

Bepublican. 

1° 

New  York  . 

New  York  city 

2 

71 

Kennaday,  John  B  
Kirk,  William  P  

Kings  
New  York  

Brooklyn  
New  York  city  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 

3 
H 

Krack,  Charles  H  „  
Kshinka,  Leopold  C.  G  

Ulster  -  

Woodstock  -  

Democrat. 

1 

Law,  Alexander  B  .... 

Washington.  ... 

Shushan  ... 

Republican. 

332 


LIFE  SKETCHES. 


1 

Name. 

County. 

Post-office. 

Politics. 

1 

Lawrence,  Henry  

Democrat 

2 

3 
4 
2 
1 
11 
If. 
9 

Lawson,  William  W  
Lewis,  Edward  
Lillybridge,  Harrison  
Lincoln,  Cyrillo  S  
Mackin,  James  
McAfee,  Knox  
McGowan,  John  T  
McGroarty,  John.  

Erie  
Oneida  
Onelda  
Ontario  
Dutchess  
New  York.  
New  York.  
Kings  

Buffalo  
East  Florence  
Blossvale.  
Naples  
Fishkill-on-the  Hud. 
New  York  city  
New  York  city  
Brooklyn  

Republican. 
Democrat. 
Republican. 
Republican. 
Democrat. 
Republican. 
Democrat. 
Democrat. 

1 

Miller  James  W  

1 
2 

7 

Miller,  Warner  
Muller,  Nicholas,  
Oakley,  James  M  
O'Keeffe,  Michael  

Herklmer  
New  York....  
Queens  
Kings  

Little  Falls  
New  York  city  
Jamaica  „  
Brooklyn,  E.  D. 

Republican. 
Democrat. 
Democrat. 

1 
1 

2 
] 

Page,  Alanson  8  
Peck,  John  F  
Petty,  Nathan  D  
Pierson,  Lucius  C  
Pope  Seth  G  

Oswego  
Jefferson  
Suffolk  
Steuben  

Oswego  
Great  Bend.  
Riverhead  
Cameron  

Democrat. 
Republican. 
Republican. 
Democrat. 

1 
4 

Prince,  L.  Bradford  

Queens  

Erie 

Flushing  

Republican. 

4 
3 

Reilly,  Charles.  
Rich,  Joslah  

New  York  
Monroe.  

New  York  city  
Spencerport  
Carlisle  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 

•> 

3 
? 

Sanford,  Jonah  
Schenck,  Martin  
Schieffelln,  Charles  M  

St.  Lawrence... 
Montgomery... 
Westchester  

Hopklnton  
Spraker's  Basin  
East  Chester  

Republican. 
Democrat. 

Schuyler,  George  W  

Tompkins  

Liberal 

o 

Cattaraugus  ... 

Liberal 

7 

Seward  Frederick  W  

New  York  

1 

Shattuck,  Stephen  D  

1 

New  Hartford  

1 

Shell  Dennis  R  

Westchester  

1 

Sllverman.  Bernard  

Kines  .... 

Brooklyn.  E.  D  

Democrat. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY. 


333 


i 

5 

Name. 

County. 

Post-office. 

Politics. 

\ 

Clarksvllle  

21 

Smith,  John  W  „  
Stacy  Orrln  T  

New  York  
Allegany  

New  York  city  
Rushford  

Democrat. 

8 
4 

Stauf,  George  A  
Stephens,  Stephen  D.,  Jr  
Struble,  HanforU  
Talmadge,  T.  V.  P  

New  York.  
Richmond  
Yates  
glngs      

New  York  city  
Richmond  
Penn  Yan  — 
Brooklyn  

Democrat. 
Democrat. 
Republican. 

0 

Rochester  

g 

Taylor,  William  F  

Tewksbury,  Samuel  W  

Perry  Center  

3 

1 

Tremaln,  Charles  
Vedder,  Commodore  P_  

Onondaga  

Manllus  
Ellicottville  

Republican. 

| 

Vosburgh,  Francis  W  

Albany  

in 

Waehner,  Louis  0  

New  York  city  

Democrat. 

i 

Wellington,  D.  Gerry.  

Hamilton  

Republican. 

Wenzel,  Adolph  E  

Sullivan  

Calllcoon  

Democrat. 

i 

West,  George  
Wetherbee  John  M.*       . 

Saratoga.  

Ballston  Spa.  

Republican. 
Republican. 

Whltmore  Daniel  E    

Republican. 

1 

Willis,  Warren  G.  

Delaware  

Masonville  -  

Republican. 

i 

Witbectc  Jacob  M  

Democrat.. 

6 

2 
7 

Worth,  Jacob  
Wurts,  Jacob  D  

Kings  
Ulster  

Brooklyn,  E.  D  
New  Paltz  

Republican. 
Democrat. 
Republican. 

»  Deceased. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


ri- 


Form L9-Series  4939 


y 

ex 


ilififi 


F 
118 


1875 


